Equestria Was Merely a Setback!
by Thunderscourge
Summary: Trixie, stranded from Equestria and in a mysterious land named Azeroth, tries her best to get by day by day...though it'd be easier if there weren't so many Crack Elves, zombies, and pesky gnomes getting in her way! Perhaps now though, with the aid of a few party members, she can get the glory and renown she has long sought out? Comedy/satire crossover with World of Warcraft.
1. Level 1: Okay, You Want Me To Do What?

It was not the first time Trixie woke up flat on the ground, limbs sprawled and her head in splitting pain. The pain was so great, in fact, that it took her a whole minute to even manage to open her eyes. As soon as the bright light of the sun hit them, she groaned and shut them again. She felt completely unwell on a level she had not felt since…

Since…

Trixie shook her head from side to side while trying to lift herself to her feet. As her eyes opened again, her efforts to rise were met by her flopping over onto the ground beside where she woke up. Her body felt…different. Lighter, and her weight was distributed differently.

She brought the end of one limb to touch her forehead, as if by massaging her throbbing temple she could ease the pain. Still suffering, a weak groan escaped her lips, "Ohhhh…"

As she made that simple utterance, the feeling against her forehead changed...it was being touched, but something about what was touching it felt wrong. Trixie focused her light sensitive eyes on whatever was touching her head.

It was colored funnily. Like someone had drained a peachy color and made it quite pale. The shape was quite funny too, with a few skinny blocks coming off of a square-ish shaped part.

Trixie moved her head away from it, only to find that this thing flopped onto her smooth forehead again.

"What is this?"

That was enough for Trixie to try and look at it more thoroughly…and all it took was a look as to what the thing was attached to for her mind to figure out what was touching her.

Attached to the thing was what Trixie could recall was called an arm, which was connected to what was known as a shoulder, which in turn was attached to her. She had a hand. Somehow that felt wrong. Why would having a hand feel so weird?

A glance to her other side revealed a matching hand. So she had two of them, and the one that had been touching her head was not some abnormality. Still, it felt…funny.

"Hands? I don't remember having those…"

The pain still lingering in Trixie's head gave her ample explanation as to why maybe she was feeling a bit off. Now that she was awake, it was time to find out where she had slept for the night and determine what to do from there.

A look at the ground she was on top of revealed a soft green field of grass. Various patches of grass were unkempt and rising above others, one of which was nearby where she had woken up. Curious, Trixie ran a hand through the grass there to find that a rock was inside the grass.

Trixie groaned. She hit her head on that rock, hadn't she?

Reaching one of her hands back, Trixie found that the back of her head indeed had a bruise. A bruise so large, in fact, that she gasped at the touch of her own soft fingers. A strand of hair caught in her fingers as she brought them across her scalp and away from the pain, granting Trixie sight of the silver sliver before it drifted away in the day's gentle breeze.

The ground would reveal little else to her, so it was time to get up! Trixie heaved upward and tried to bring herself onto all four limbs. She instead flopped forward and had to catch herself with her hands, ending up in a position kneeling down on the ground. That granted her a better enough view though, now being able to see that she was next to a round building with a symbol that had the appearance of a stylized fleur-de-lis with red as its primary color, and a golden outline surrounding it. Around the building was an assortment of trees, some green and some a golden orange. Those that were green came from intricate, swirled bases that were a part of the building while the others rose from the ground.

The building itself was a similar shade to Trixie's skin, and it held an architecture than only felt partly familiar…like she had seen something like it before, but not actually seen anything exactly like it in her life.

The unfamiliarity brought some uneasiness to Trixie's stomach, "Where in Tartarus am I? And just how hard did I hit my head?" she brought her hand over to her stomach at the queasy feeling, "There _better_ not have been anything in my food last night…"

In fact, what _had_ she eaten last night? Ah, whatever, Trixie was sure she could figure it out as soon as her head cleared a bit.

Trixie lowered her hand from her stomach to one of her lower limbs, finding that it was a leg. That was normal, even if the leg itself felt weird. A quick check revealed her last limb to be the same, and Trixie sighed. Okay, whatever was wrong with her, she at least had all of the parts that would let her get up and move.

While checking herself, Trixie found that her body was covered by a soft purple robe. Wearing purple felt right, so she paid it little mind as she slowly pulled herself to her feet. Just when she reached her feet, Trixie yelped as something crashed into the back of her legs and knocked her forward. Her head plunged into one of the green trees nearby and the young woman flailed as she tried fighting her way out of the tree's leaves.

"Ahhh!"

Once successful in freeing herself, Trixie turned to find herself being approached by what appeared to be a...feline being. It had a coat of reddish-orange, and it had fangs that poked far out of its mouth in a threatening manner. Yellow glowing eyes stared intently at her, and Trixie found herself backing right into that tree she had been fighting to escape. This little cat just tackled her, and it did not look friendly!

Trixie glanced around to see if there was anyone around. After all, she was right next to a building! People had to be around—

More cats. Dozens of more cats. Some trees as well, yes, but the field seemed filled with these felines.

Trixie gave the cat a nice smile and held a hand out to try and touch it. It was worth a shot, right?

"Good kitty...soft kitty...little ball of fur..." Trixie weakly sang as she slowly approached it. It growled at her and snapped towards her outstretched hand, which made Trixie realize something: she could do magic! All she had to do was...

Oh great, now she could not even remember how to do magic! What was the world coming to?

A growl reminded her that the world was coming to her being mauled by a cat. Yes, that.

The cat sniffed towards her and let out another growl before turning around and leaving, walking towards the others gathered on the plains. At that moment the war cry of a man rung out, and someone in full armor rushed and impaled one of the farther cats with their sword. The others did not appear all that pleased by this and turned to assault the armored man, but Trixie was already running along the edge of the building away from the whole mess the moment he appeared. It would be nice and noble to help him murder the cats for no reason, since their numbers were sure to kill him, but Trixie valued her own life more. And did not feel comfortable hurting poor animals for no explained reason.

On the way around the building Trixie came across what appeared to be target dummies, like what you might beat up in training, and surely enough there was a line of robed figures hurling magic towards these dummies. Trixie watched in awe for a moment as fire and ice hurled forward and crashed into the straw figures, but a stray shot of a poor magic user flew right by her head. At that point Trixie decided watching from _behind_ the targets was not the smartest decision of her life. The concentrating mages did not seem to even notice the person in their line of fire, and they continued to attack their targets despite everything.

With the warrior attacking the poor cats, and these mages attacking their targets, Trixie could not help but feel as if this was some training ground for soldiers. She did not recognize just what these beings were, but she did not give them a second glance before continuing on her way. She wanted to figure out what this all was as soon as possible, idiot mages be damned.

After continuing around the circle that was the building for a few more moments, Trixie was met with a wide open hole where one would think a door should be. The entrance was simply the lack of a door, and Trixie found herself a little stunned by this very open building. How did they keep the weather from getting in?

Standing in front of the entrance of the building and looking like they could answer some questions was another woman who was pointing some other robed figures towards a different field. Someone with directions most certainly could be helpful!

Trixie approached the woman, but before addressing her she observed her for a moment. The woman had a soft face with green, literally glowing eyes, long, pointed ears that sloped up and slightly towards the back of the head, and blonde hair tied back in a ponytail. Her body was bipedal, much like Trixie found herself, and formed a surprising hourglass shape with a narrow waist, large hips, and two large bumps on the chest that were almost as big as the chest they hung off of in length. What were those things, Trixie wondered? A glance down made her realize that she too possessed them.

Having looked the woman over, Trixie cleared her throat to get her attention, "Hello, my name is…"

Oh no. Trixie's eyes widened as the woman turned towards her...she was blanking on her own name! She bit her lip for a moment and groaned as she fought to remember who she was. The woman Trixie stood across from rose an eyebrow, curious about the sudden stop, but she was not kept waiting long as a wave of information hit Trixie: she was, indeed, named Trixie. Trixie Lulamoon, the Great and Powerful!

The Great and Powerful _what_ though? She remembered doing magic before, so was it magician? Whatever, she would just leave that out until she could remember more.

"Trixie! Trixie Lulamoon," she finished awkwardly.

The woman smiled, ignoring Trixie's awkwardness as if it were something she was used to, "Oh, you must be another student who has come here to prepare against the Burning Legion. Welcome to Sunstrider Isle, Ms. Lulamoon. I am Magistrix Erona, your guide for the near future."

Absolutely none of that registered with Trixie, who gave the other woman a weird look.

"Burning Legion? Sunstrider Isle?"

What was this 'Magistrix" even saying? What were those things and why was Trixie supposed to know what those meant?

"Yes..." the Magistrix nodded slowly, her voice trailing off as she grimaced. The poor woman was wondering what brain damage this poor soul was ailed with to not know what those words meant to their people.

Realizing that she was seeming a bit unintelligent, Trixie chuckled nervously. She hated not knowing what she was doing, "Okay, so, hypothetically, would it be possible for you to talk to me like I have no idea what is going on, what I am doing, or where I am? Just, you know, to be sure we are clear on those details?"

Her hypothetical that was completely the case made Erona facepalm. She had encountered many...mentally challenged trainees before, but never quite to this degree. Even that idiot warrior who had rushed off to slay the cubs by the back of the building knew those basics. Magistrix Erona knew already this was going to be difficult.

_"Silvermoon kids these days and their Bloodthistle and drinking…"_

Trixie could hear with her large ears that the woman had muttered something, but she had not caught just what was said, "What?"

Erona gave Trixie a fake smile,"Nothing! Let us begin with the basics. What do you know?"

Trixie nodded, glad that she could finally address her problems, "I have hands, and that feels abnormal. You have them too, so an explanation would be nice " a similar and more important question surfaced for Trixie, "Also, what are you?"

The urge to have her jaw drop was killing Erona inside. Was this student just playing with her or were they just that unintelligent? Perhaps they were just suffering from a bit too much partying in the city?

"I am a Blood Elf, much like yourself. We are a race known for its magical prowess and our refined ways. To think that your hangover is so great that you cannot remember that tells me that perhaps we should limit the drinking of ones as young as yourself."

Trixie crossed her arms over her chest defensively, "I didn't drink anything!" a moment passed before Trixie realized she had no idea if she had or not, "Or, at least I don't think so. I might have. But what I do in the privacy of my wagon is my own business!"

That caught Erona's attention, "Wagon? So you are a traveler?"

"I…" Trixie slowly grew a smirk as she continued, "Yes. Yes I am."

Yes, she was a traveler! A traveling magician, the Great and Powerful Trixie! She would go from place to place and perform magic. Sure, she could not remember her spells at that moment, but she would with time. Of that she was sure. This temporary setback with her memory would go away and things would go back to normal...whatever that was.

Trixie bowed to the Magistrix, adopting a grandiose voice, "A traveling magician, in fact. And I have come here to improve my skills so I can become the greatest performer in Equestria!"

Erona rose her brow again, now being the one feeling slightly foolish, "Equestria? Is that some realm of Kalimdor? These are the Eastern Kingdoms, there is no Equestria here."

Not able to know if that was indeed the case but also not willing to appear like any more of a fool, Trixie nodded and stood back up with a smile to mask her inner nervousness, "Yes, that is it. Completely! Trixie knows what she is talking about now."

That seemed to put Erona partially at ease, "Oh good then. Perhaps we can discuss more details later then. For now, I would like to have your aid in a most pressing matter."

To make herself appear at least competent and make up for previous...bumbling, Trixie gestured to herself while boasting proudly, "I will amaze you with my talents. What shall I do? Pull a rabbit out of a hat? Summon a bouquet of flowers?"

Internally, Trixie was saying something along the lines of "Pleasedon'tcallmybluffpleasedon'tcallmybluffpleasedon'tcallmybluff!" as a result of how she could not currently back up her claims. Luckily for her, Erona could not read minds and paid it all no mind. The Magistrix smiled to Trixie in a way that made the confused "Blood Elf" nervous.

"I am more interested in your capability of murder, my young student. The sooner you begin your magic education, Trixie, the better for us all. There is little room for error, so listen closely."

Now it was Trixie's turn to fight the urge of dropping one's jaw, "M-murder? Like people murder?"

Just the idea made Trixie's stomach feel ill. Here they were, having this nice conversation, and now death was on the table! The nonchalant manner made Trixie wonder just how common a subject this was for the woman, since she did not seem nearly as put off by it as anyone should!

Seeing that Trixie was alarmed, Erona backpedaled verbally, "No, no, no. Let me explain. The Burning Crystals - the green floating objects to the west of the Sunspire here - have long been used to power the isle's experimentations."

Trixie glanced around the landscape and found that in the nearby distance there were the so called Burning Crystals. Floating above the ground and surrounded by what Trixie presumed to be floating eels, the crystals were above circular platforms that had a similar architecture to the nearby building, which she then realized was not the only one of its kind. Multiple buildings surrounded the nearby area, which made Trixie curious as to what they all were for. Inspection of them could happen later though, for now she was observing the crystals.

The largest one in view, shaped like an elongated diamond, was quite large even at a few hundred feet away. Inside of it were two glowing shapes of orange and yellow that held the shape of eyes, and Trixie found herself slightly unnerved by how it seemed to be staring back at her.

Her observation complete, Erona continued for her new student of sorts, "The mana wyrms you see around them were their guardians, but the Scourge invasion of Quel'Thalas has driven them errant from our lack of magical control over them."

Trixie glanced back at the floating eels, some of which were closer and gave a better view. They had a blue-ish body with a thin, weblike membrane around forming straight back across their long and slim bodies on both top and bottom. They too had glowing eyes, and the way they waved back and forth as they hovered above the ground had a mesmerizing effect on Trixie, who found herself smiling at them.

This said, Trixie once again found herself confused by the jargon used.

"What is this Scourge you speak of?"

This time Erona seemed more than a little miffed at Trixie's questioning, "The race of undead monstrosities that drove us from our homeland and demolished our species. I am a magic teacher, not a history professor, so just listen. There is little choice but to thin the mana wyrms numbers for reclamation of this Isle. This is a great way to test out your magical powers and let me gauge where you are at in terms of skill level. Do this, then return to me."

Trixie gulped. So this was the murder mentioned previously. She was supposed to just go and kill creatures as a task?

"Are there no beast tamers who could help these poor creatures? I don't think I've ever killed something, and I would hate to break a good streak now!" Trixie laughed nervously, trying to find an alternate option to killing.

Erona shook her head sadly, "No. I mean, we receive a flux of warriors, criminals for hire, magicians, and other such talented people here, but if I am to be honest we do not receive too many huntards with the skill to tame such creatures. Not nearly enough to make a true impact..."

Trixie tilted her head at the odd word she heard, "Huntards?"

Erona chuckled as she realized she used the wrong word, "Excuse me, Hunters. Ranged specialists who tame creatures. Their profession is less popular amongst our race these days because of the cowardice associated with their tactics."

"So, to begin my training, you want me to murder animals that are tainted by something we can possibly help with but just do not have the manpower for?" Erona nodded to Trixie's question, which led to the new student proclaiming, "I'm going to capture them."

The Magistrix could tell this would be a difficult apprentice already, "That would prove most difficult, and what would you do with them? All of our animal holding pens are full with Dragonhawks."

Trixie placed her hands on her hips smarmily, tilting her head back and lifting her nose up as she brought forth yet another boast, this one being one she intended to fulfill however she could, "You want to help their species by thinning the amount of corrupted ones there are. I'll do just that. Let the Great and Powerful Trixie amaze you!"

"I can sense your overall magic, though not your skill. This being said, you are barely above average in terms of new recruits and their power. Why do you think you are so amazing?" Erona scoffed, hoping to bring some humility to the younger woman.

Ready to begin her task, Trixie strutted past Erona and towards the nearby plains where a gathering of mana wyrms was, "Pardon me, teacher, but you will not be a neigh-sayer much longer. Just watch as I do the impossible."

Their conversation over, Trixie set out to reclaim Sunstrider Isle in her own way. This being said, she quickly looked around to see if anyone else was using magic. A nearby feline cub growled in pain, bringing Trixie's attention to what caused the pain. A man in similar robes to Trixie's own, though his had a crimson shade with gold outlines like the building from before, was forming a ball of what appeared to be ice and fire magic in his hand before blasting it out towards the wild animal. This next shot did not hit the cub like the last, but it did give Trixie the time to study him. He began saying an incantation along the lines of "Anara'nel belore", and suddenly a burst of fire erupted before the cub. The grass lit and singed the charging animal, at which point the man formed another ball of ice and fire in his hands while chanting, "Dune'adah!"

The cub fell down, and Trixie cast her eyes away. She knew what she had to do in order to have her magic now though. To herself, Trixie whispered exactly what he said while focusing some of her energy into her palm.

"Dune'adah!" her fierce whisper went. A flicker of flame and a tinge of frost formed in her hand, making Trixie grin. By channeling more of her energy, she could cast an attack like that blonde man in the red robes, but for now she would only use that as a last resort.

Trixie approached the closest wrym and attempted to see if they were nicer than the dreadful cubs nearby, "Here wyrmy-wyrmy."

One of the nearby wyrms could seemingly tell that she was speaking to it, which Trixie realized likely stemmed from its previous affiliation with Elves like her. A perfect test subject for her to try and tame! Trixie regretted not having any treats or the like, but she was sure she could think of something. Trixie smiled as it wavered back and forth, slowly hovering over to her with its smooth yet scaly body.

It stopped about a foot in front of her, at which point Trixie brought a hand out to touch it. She felt like she had always wanted a pet, and could not remember actually ever getting one. The wyrm accepted her touch, not making any threatening movement as she began to stroke it. Trixie could not understand just why these seemingly docile creatures had to die, but she did find herself smiling as it moved to rub against her hand more with its body, "That's a good wrym. Would you like to join me and be my pet?"

The animal's ability to respond was already at a low level before an arrow crashed through its upper body, right behind its glowing blue eyes. It wavered back and forth as Trixie gasped and jumped back, with a second arrow crashing right into the small fin on one side, through the body, and skewering the other fin as well. The wyrm's floating ceased and it twirled in the air before exploding in a brief flash. Trixie cast her eyes away for the duration of the flash, only to return her gaze to it and find that there was but a glowing orb remaining of the wyrm.

Trixie turned around to see a green armored woman with auburn hair looking cooly at her, the woman's green eyes matching her outfit and not displaying any emotion as she placed another arrow on her bow. Behind her, a frightened mana wyrm hovered around, a chain around its neck that led to a belt on the woman.

Angry that her new friend was dead now because of this reckless person, Trixie shook a fist at them and let them know her feelings on the matter, "What the heck do you think you are doing?!"

The woman shrugged, slowly lifting her bow and aiming at another wyrm about ten feet from Trixie, "Putting down the animals like I was tasked with doing."

Seeing what was about to happen, Trixie jumped in front of the other creature. This stupid person was ruining her great plan! Not only that, they were being a total jerk about it too! "Oh no you don't. I'm not going to just kill these adorable creatures because you're bloodthirsty!"

The other woman appeared only slightly irritated by Trixie getting in the way, still aiming at the creature peacefully floating behind Trixie's shoulder, "I am a Hunter. I kill animals as I see fit, and use them similarly however I wish. Apparently you do not get how this works."

Seeing the Hunter pull their bow string back, Trixie gulped as she realized this game of chicken might not go in her favor, "Apparently not, but that does not mean the Great and Powerful Trixie is just going to permit mass slaughter!"

Narrowing their eyes momentarily, the woman glared at Trixie as their bowstring remained ready to fire. After remaining like that for ten dreadful seconds, they lowered it and sighed.

"So be it."

Trixie opened her mouth to thank them for their understanding, only for the shoulder part of her purple robe to be clipped by an arrow that was shot at a pace so fast Trixie knew that the woman had to be crazy. Who just shot like that when people were standing right by!?

Trixie turned around to see the poor wyrm behind her fall and die similar to the first, bringing a tear to her eye as she realized she had failed two of these poor creatures.

"You just shot at me!" Trixie shrieked at the other woman, the feeling of wet blood now trickling down her skin inside the robe making her all the more angry. What happens if that shot had been a little to the side? It could have killed her!

Once again, the hunter shrugged, though this time it was with a slight smirk, "You were in the way."

Trixie decided then that she was not very fond of these Huntards either. And since she now knew how to use her magic again, or at least a single spell of it, why not give it some field practice?

As the Hunter began to leave, Trixie brought a hand to her shoulder, arcing it over her back so that it looked like she was covering her now exposed shoulder and clutching the spot where she was bleeding. In reality, she was beginning to channel her energy into her palm to let off a blast of fire and ice like that other mage had, but only someone standing behind her could see it. She whispered the incantation and held the attack there.

Not wanting them to go just yet, Trixie decided to announce her new brilliant plan, "Hey, Huntard! Know what? Let's handle this disagreement about methods and ethics the good old fashioned way. Up for a duel, Huntard?"

The so called Huntard turned to face Trixie, the shackled wyrm shivering as its seeming owner coolly responded, "I have more experience than you. I would kill you without breaking a sweat."

Trixie scoffed, fully confident in how striking someone with magic would cause them to give up in an instant, "We'll see about that! Are you too afraid?"

The stoic Hunter nodded, "Very well. We begin in three...two...one..."

As they counted they had begun to draw their bowstring back with another arrow, aiming right at Trixie. Trixie had gathered up all of her strength for this one attack, and intended to knock this arrogant woman out so she could do no more harm. The moment things began, Trixie whipped her sneak attack at her foe and the ice-fire attack sailed through the air right to its intended target. Luckily they had been standing still, so Trixie did not have trouble aiming it in a straight line at her foe.

The Hunter fired off a quick shot that actually caught Trixie in the arm in a stunning display of accuracy, before quickly yanking the chain on their belt and pulling the mana wyrm they had shackled to shield them from Trixie's attack. Trixie gasped both in pain and surprise as all of her energy just was wasted on one of the beings she was trying to help. It did not die, but it fell weakly onto the ground as its owner prepared another arrow to fire.

Trixie tried moving, but felt sluggish after being hit by the first arrow and so the second one nicked her leg. Trixie could feel some more energy welling inside of her, and began to summon forth another attack before the hunter closed their gap somewhat and pointed the arrow right at Trixie's head. Realizing she had been bested, Trixie bowed her head and raised her hands up in surrender to her enemy who was now only five feet away.

It took all of her pride to admit it, but Trixie knew she was not good enough to succeed in this encounter, "You win."

That did not appear good enough for the Hunter, who drew their string back and prepared to fire again.

"Dead in the first area of one's journey. How pathetic," the Hunter snorted. Trixie realized quickly that her foe was taking this as a duel to the death, not just a competitive and sporting one, and quickly opened her mouth to try and stop herself from being killed over such a trivial matter.

Before either could do as they intended, a red blur moved in-between them. Trixie found herself staring at the back of the red robed man from before, who now stood right in front of the Hunter and was now acting as a shield for Trixie.

The man held a smile in his voice as he intervened, "Hold it there, friend. What happens to be the problem here?"

"We had a duel. She lost. So you get lost unless you care to have a new hole," the Hunter growled.

The magic using man gestured back to Trixie, who snorted at his gesture, "There is no need to finish her then. You have proven whatever point you were trying to make."

Trixie used this time to gather herself and to look at her bleeding arm, where the arrow had caught her and broken through. She hid a groan of pain, not wanting to appear even weaker than she was.

The Hunter looked around the red robed mage to see Trixie, at which point she huffed, "If I was not so repulsed by this man's face I would stay to finish you."

That being said, the Hunter turned her back again and made to leave, dragging the unconscious wyrm along with her. The threat gone, the man turned around to face Trixie. Before he could say anything though, Trixie decided to see who she needed to thank for her life.

Trixie crouched down as she winced in pain, "Who are you? I owe you one..."

The fellow magic user offered her a hand, a warm smile on his face as he introduced himself, "My name is Kael'Thas, a fellow student and mage, and it was no problem at all. Welcome to Sunstrider Isle, my lady."

Trixie might be confused, she might be bleeding, and she might be pissed off about how her first ten minutes in this new place had gone...but seeing a friendly smile made her feel at least a little better about it all.

If there was a next time though, she was _not_ going to lose to that stupid Huntard. Lesson learned.

* * *

_**A/N: Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed! Please leave your thoughts in the review section below, and I hope to see you all for chapter two!**_

**l**

**V**


	2. Level 2: Go Fetch

Trixie groaned as her body began to ache in a way she was not familiar with. A burning sensation all over. Was she exhausted in addition to wounded? Still, with some difficulty she managed to hide it and observe the man before her.

Red robes with golden outlines...a look at his own clothes made Trixie realize that her own looked so much better. His were in tatters when observed up close, and they barely looked like they could hold together another day of actual use.

In comparison to his shoddy clothes, his face was much easier on the eyes. His eyes were similar to the Magistrix's in that they blazed a bright green, as if magic was pouring right from them. His face was pointed and skinny, but not in a bad way, as it gave him a very refined appearance that Trixie could appreciate. Even his eyebrows were amusing, being so long that they left his face entirely.

Plain and simple, Trixie could not see what the Huntard was talking about in relation to his face being unappealing. Perhaps they simply did not like men?

The handsome Elf before Trixie held a hand out towards her as he introduced himself, "My name is Kael'Thas, a fellow student and mage. Welcome to Sunstrider Isle, my lady. I apologize if some of our population is…" as Trixie moved to take his hand to stand up, he turned towards the direction the Huntard went and frowned at the now faraway figure of the cruel woman, "Well, whatever one would call that. Grouchy. Mean spirited. An as—"

His turning and the shifted attention caused him not to politely help her up as he originally meant to, so Trixie cleared her throat to draw his attention back to her, "_Ahem_."

"Oh, my apologies," Kael turned back to her and granted her his hand again, "Here, let me help you."

Annoyed at this point, Trixie decided to stand up on her own, "I don't need your help…"

As she stood, Trixie growled in pain as her leg wound flared up in pain. Yes, that. She had forgotten about that in favor of the arrow sticking in her. She fell backwards onto her bum as she tried getting up from her kneeling position, causing the man to crack a smile.

"Apparently you do," this time when he offered his hand, Trixie begrudgingly took it. Once upright, Kael reached behind him and removed a vial of some red liquid from a backpack he had, "Now, here, hold this."

Trixie took the vial with some confusion. It looked like blood. She rose an eyebrow at the sight of it, "What is this for? Is this some kind of…drink?"

Kael reached for the arrow stuck in Trixie and grasped it firmly, "You could say that. Now, when I say drink, drink it."

Not happy about where this was going, Trixie tried pulling back from him only for the Elf to grab her arm as well and hold her still, "Wait, what are you—"

He ripped the arrow out of her in one quick movement, saying at the same exact moment, "_Drink!_"

"Oww! Damnit, you just—"

Kael glaring at her made Trixie realize she did not do as he said, so she moved to change that.

Trixie lifted the vial to her mouth only to find that it had a cork in the top. She removed it quickly with her thumb, at which point she guzzled the liquid down as fast as she could. This could be poison for all she knew, but the fact that he saved her life made her comfortable in drinking whatever he gave her. Pain wracked her arm as the arrow was removed, and she could feel blood begin to run down her robe's sleeve…

"I said drink," he commented as he rolled Trixie's sleeve up without her permission. Trixie was about to comment on what he was doing until she felt the blood stop running down her arm. When he finished rolling up the sleeve, Trixie gasped at the sight: no wound whatsoever remained. The pain was still there, but no arrow hole.

Kael smirked at his accomplishment, "There, is that better?"

"No…" Trixie pouted at first about the pain, only to realize then that she was being ungrateful, "Okay, _yes_. Thank you. But it hurts…"

Kael let go of her and bowed slightly, "I apologize, but I do not possess healing magic and I assume you do not either, so this is our only alternative if you do not want to spend a week in the infirmary."

Trixie could see what he meant, since she knew basically nothing at this point and would have to learn more, "Point taken…"

It was then that Kael realized that he still did not know the name of this new acquaintance, so he prodded her for that information gently, "So, ahem, what's your name, milady? I do not remember seeing you around here."

Trixie decided to act as grandiose as she could, bringing a hand to her chest and speaking in a haughty voice, "I am the great and powerful Trixie Lulamoon, and I…"

She paused as she remembered something.

"I have no idea how I got here," she finished in a more confused tone.

Her response was first met with a smirk, and then after a moment that smirk transformed into a full grin. Then Kael tilted his head back and began to laugh at her, causing Trixie to grunt as he tried to reign in his burst of amusement.

Once calm, Kael cleared his throat and continued on as if he had not just been laughing so heartily, "Oh do not worry. I would reckon that many who come here do not know much of went on before their arrival here. This is where journeys begin, not continue."

Trixie glared at him. Something felt off about this guy…

"You have amnesia too, don't you," Trixie flatly responded on a hunch.

Caught, Kael brought a hand to the back of his head nervously, "Yes, that would be the case…Beyond my name and some things here and there, I don't really have a clue what is going on either."

That interested Trixie. Perhaps with a similarly…confused person, she could seek out answers as to what was going on. First she had to finish what she was doing though, which made her question what this strange fellow was doing too, "So you are just lounging here and saving damsels in distress, or do you have some goal?"

Her question seemed to sap some of the warmness out of him, and Kael looked down to the side as he thought back to his own time in the Isle, "I tried getting some work, but people keep shying away from me. From what they say I guess I must look like someone infamous."

That would explain the Huntard's comment, Trixie thought, which made her feel kind of sorry for him. Somehow the idea of being an outcast resonated with her. Perhaps she had experience with it that she simply did not recall?

As Trixie began to pity him, the man put on a fake smile and returned the question, "And what about you? Do you have any goals in particular?"

Trixie tried to act as if she was smart and knew what was going on again, "Well, besides growing my magical skill and reaching whatever potential I have there, I don't know…"

An idea struck her. He was an amnesiac outcast, and she was an amnesiac foreigner. Perhaps they could lend one another a hand, at least until they had things more settled and their memories restored?

"Perhaps we can help eachother. Since neither of us have a goal or idea, how about we see where things take us?"

Kael brought his hand to his chin as he thought about the possibility. He would hate to impose on someone else because of his current unfriendly relations with others around the Isle, but now that someone was willing to talk to him he would hate to pass up the opportunity, "I could be amenable to that," he felt the need to warn his new companion though about the dark cloud that would follow him, "Though, if you plan to work with those around here, my presence may prove…scandalous."

Trixie crossed her arms over her chest and snootily lifted her nose, trying to act tough when in fact she was still a bit scared about how close she had come to dying, "You saved my life. If they have an objection to you tagging along and helping me, then they can deal with not having my assistance and skills."

Kael bowed to her, grateful that for once someone was not judging him for things he was unaware of, "You are most kind, Lady Trixie."

Surprised by the flattery, Trixie did her best not to blush as she changed the topic, "So, you do magic too? I was watching you before."

"Yes, though I have yet to branch out from the basics, but I do have a general understanding of at least those currently."

Trixie turned around to face the area she had been approaching prior to the Huntard's interruption. The area opened up to a nice plains away from the buildings, and despite the occasion tree swaying or giant green floating crystal it seemed quite calm.

As Trixie turned though, she felt a bounce in her chest area. She had kind of felt it while moving before, but the speed at which she turned made it all the more pronounced. The two orbs that swelled from her chest were the culprit, and Trixie found herself genuinely confused by them or what they were. She rose a hand to cup one of them as she pondered this weird feeling of having extraneous weight on her chest, "You know, this doesn't exactly feel...right…"

Kael struggled to respond as he too took an interest in what she was now talking about. Unlike Trixie however, Kael had a basic understanding of what made for a humanoid woman's chest, and Trixie was no different than other Elven women in that regard. In fact, a quick observation made Kael all the more confused about why she was unsure about her breasts, since they were of a size that would be hard for most to ignore, "Your robes…fit you nicely? I don't see what the matter could be…"

Trixie grimaced as she thought about how she apparently was going to have to deal with this hindrance, "I guess they do," she moved her hands up to the neck of her robe so that she could reach inside, "But what is filling them up. What are _these_?"

Even with Trixie's back to him, Kael turned his head away and coughed nervously, "A very unusual question, one with a level of indecency I do not feel comfortable answering."

Trixie reached her hand inside the robe and ran it over the soft skin located there. Her face went red at the touch, and she quickly realized that she _was_ indeed a mammal. She withdrew the hand quickly and forced it to her side, her whole pale face red as she vowed never to embarrass herself like that again in front of someone else, "I..._apologize_ for my question. I am…out of it."

Now the one eager to change the subject, Kael approached Trixie's side and spoke back to their previous conversation, "Anyways, we did not agree on any terms of our partnership. As this is a business related matter, I suggest we come up with some basic rules to form its foundation."

Still embarrassed, Trixie only nodded to him. Business sounded good. Business didn't make her tingle…or, at least in the same way.

Kael reached into his bag and removed a pair of dice, "I propose an even split of what we find and gather in our journeys. When something is singular and of great importance, we shall roll an unmodified pair of dice. To help assure their fairness, each of us shall use one of our own. This will account for if any others join us, as a coin flip would be limited to only two while a dice has more outcomes than we likely will have people with us."

The idea of fairly distributing anything they come across sounded good to Trixie, but there was the chance that someone could be more fortunate than the other, /"And if one starts winning everything through random chance? I would say that we should decide whether or not one participant needs it or not. If they do not need it, they do not roll."

"And if none shall need it?"

Trixie smirked, glad to think out this basic rule now instead of having to deal with any drama later, "Then both of us rolls, and then things proceed as normal," with the materialistic aspect of their partnership decided, that left the more important part of leadership, "That concerns what we gain. Now, how shall we decide who leads and when?"

Kael smiled back at her, similarly pleased, "We agree on our goals before we set out, and then take turns deciding the specifics on whatever journey we embark on after our time learning here. Take things day by day."

"Very well. I think that shall do for now."

"I foresee a long and beautiful relationship."

"The rules shall be amended as needed."

"Of course."

* * *

The rules quickly came into question when the two came into a situation where neither one of them wanted something.

"Did a boot just fall out of that wyrm?"

A mana wyrm that had been wounded by another young mage had assaulted Trixie and Kael after the other mage ran away like a coward the first time it hissed at them. With a blast of the only spell Trixie knew, named Frostfire she learned from Kael, she managed to keep it from biting her head off in its maddened assault.

When it exploded in a brilliant light and fell to the ground as an orb, a boot also fell out of the light. This left both Trixie and Kael confused, though neither wanted to consider how or why the mana wyrm had a boot inside of it.

"You have it," Trixie disgustedly responded to Kael, who was beginning to come up with an idea for the unkempt boot.

Kael picked up the disgusting boot to Trixie's displeasure, and placed it in his bad as well with some of his own disgust, "We may think it is repulsive and junk, but who knows what the merchants around here will think of it? Perhaps we could sell it. I have a bag to carry it, so it will remain there for now."

Trixie stuck her tongue out at the sight of it, "So gross. Just remember to split the…profit."

Another mana wyrm, this one not at all aggressive, floated by Trixie's face which reminded her of what she was supposed to be doing.

She turned to her partner, who seemed to have the same thought on his mind as he said the question before she could, "You are doing the magic training, correct?"

Trixie had seen him fighting a wyrm before her confrontation with the Hunter, which meant that he too was likely doing the Magistrix's bidding too.

Trixie nodded yes as she thought about how fortunate it was to have a partner when confronting such deadly matters, "Yes, I am. Are you tasked with ridding the Isle with the wyrms as well?"

Kael smiled nervously as if he was hiding something, "It seems to be an entrance exam of sorts."

"How brutish," Trixie commented, not pleased that there was a institutionalized practice of killing wild animals. She felt bad about even killing the one that just attacked her in a blind rage, but knew that she did not have a choice with how close it had been to taking a bite out of her.

The mana wyrm floating around her made Trixie sigh, as she realized she had to deal with it in some way…

A lightbulb lit in her head. Even if she could not tame them, she could get around killing them. The Magistrix wanted them gone, and Trixie would do just that.

Trixie whipped out another magic attack to hit this wyrm at point blank range. She made sure to make it even stronger than her last hit, which had only finished off an already half-dead animal.

The wyrm was blasted out of the air and fell to the ground, though not in the orb form they took upon death. It was wounded heavily, and it flopped around briefly before taking flight once again. Instead of confronting Trixie, the nearly dead animal took flight and began to weakly fly away from the area.

Kael was intrigued by her approach, since he definitely remembered Magistrix Erona saying to kill them when he overheard her talking earlier, "Are you not going to finish it off?"

Trixie scoffed at the idea, "Of course not. I am not going to harm something so needlessly. They said to reduce the population of mana wyrms, and so I am, just in a different way. I'll scare them off for now so they stop being a nuisance, and later I will find a way to cure them. I do not feel comfortable slaying such beautiful beings."

Seeing her alternate method and goal, Kael sighed as he thought about how to complete it, "This will make things more difficult…"

Similar to when Trixie first watched him, Kael summoned forth a burst of some flames at the ground beneath some mana wyrms. The sudden fire frightened the animals, and they fled a few feet from it. Once moved back this far, Kael shot another series of flames to chase them off and away.

Trixie could see that the rapid use of magic was straining him, so she spoke up with some thought, "I was not going to prevent you from doing as you would. If you were going to kill them, go ahead. You need not handicap yourself."

That only made him laugh. He was being offered kindness from someone, and that was not something he was going to squander by trampling her ethics, "What kind of partner would I be if I breached my partner's code of conduct?"

Trixie smiled as Kael continued to set the plains aflame. This really was going to be quite the partnership should it last.

* * *

The two continued this until a whole area of the plains was set free from mana wyrms, which continued to float away until they were no longer in sight. They could return, or they could bring problems to some other place, but Trixie was just happy they had rid the area of them with minimal blood shed.

Trixie patted her partner on the shoulder at the sight of the fleeing wyrms, "Thank you for the aid. I think we have scared enough away."

The touch made Kael relax somewhat, his whole body aching immensely from the relocation effort due to all the magic he used and the toll that in turn took on him, "My fire was more than enough for the job. I am only glad to have been of service to you. You're the first person who is actually bothering to talk to me much at all."

Seeing as how Kael had been quite the stand up fellow so far, Trixie found it hard to believe that others were shunning him, "How rude of them," the idea of proving herself and gaining fame through her actions sounded appealing though in her mind, so Trixie decided it was time to return to her quest giver. After all, Kael could possibly earn favor back if he tried, "Let us report back to the Magistrix about our success."

Trixie turned around to approach the relatively nearby Magistrix who was handling some even newer recruits, but Kael did not follow her. She stopped to look back at him in confusion, but he once again spoke first.

"You go ahead. I will wait here."

Trixie was not about to let her partner be shy even if everyone else hated him, so she grabbed his arm with a firm but not hard grip, "Why? Are you nervous about speaking with her? Come on."

The man continued to look away from her, "The truth is, I never actually got the mission like you did…" he flashed her a nervous look, "Since so many people were ignoring me or outright telling me to go away, I feared approaching the teacher who was setting people on missions of destruction lest I become the new subject of her ire. I've just been copying what others have been doing the past day or so. That's why I know a little more, but have not progressed any farther."

Trixie pulled his arm in so that it was intertwined with her own as she began to tug him towards her teacher, "Oh don't be silly. How do you expect to earn their trust if you do not try and do something for them? Come with me, and I will say you helped me in my mission. They seem fine with me, so my introducing you should prove beneficial to your reputation."

Her persistence and optimism got through to him slightly, and he allowed her to pull him even though he remained somewhat pessimistic about the whole matter, "I acquiesce to your plan."

"Of course you do. I am brilliant after all."

Once the other students had left Erona, Trixie approached her with Kael in tow. She let go of him once they were there, causing Kael to straighten himself out after being pulled there by the tall but still shorter than him Trixie.

Trixie beamed at her teacher whiled gesturing to the area she and Kael had cleared out, "Hello Magistrix. I believe that my partner Kael and I have succeeded in ridding Sunstrider Isle of your pesky wyrms."

Trixie's words seemed lost upon the Magistrix beyond a certain point, as the Magistrix turned to face Kael with a gaping jaw.

"Kael? As in the same name as our Prince, Prince Kael'Thas Sunstrider? You have been born into an unfortunate life, my friend, to be named after that man. At least you were not named after the Outlands conflict began, for that would be even more unfortunate."

Kael opened his mouth as a light bulb lit in his mind, "Actually, I—"

Seeing that Kael was about to say something that could possibly incriminate himself, Trixie gripped him by the arm again and spoke up faster than he could for once.

"May I speak with you?"

Kael nodded, and Trixie apologized to Erona for the interruption. With his permission Trixie led him about ten meters away and began to speak to him in a whisper.

"Okay, new plan. Don't go around saying your name. I'm sorry I did."

Kael tilted his head, confused by the complete 180 on her approach to his reputation, "What? Why not? Being a prince sounds quite familiar, and perhaps she knows something about my history. What if I am this Prince Kael'Thas Sunstrider? That would mean this whole Isle is named after me—"

Trixie held a finger to her lips to signal that he should be quiet, "She said being named Kael was unfortunate. What do you want to wager that this Kael'Thas, possibly your own self, was disgraced at this so called Outlands conflict that seems to be going on right now?"

"I…" Kael's shoulders dropped as he realized that if he was not just a lookalike who held the name of the prince, he might actually be this ill favored man which would be the root of his current problems. The others likely were shunning him because of his similar appearance, and him saying his name would only make their suspicions rise further, "I concede to your point. I do wish to look into this matter in the future, even if it is by research rather than inquisition."

Trixie could understand the need to know more given her own situation, but she did not want her new friend to get in any trouble, "Of course, but hush for now."

With their new rule established, Trixie and Kael returned to the Magistrix who gave them both a curious look. Trixie laughed nervously for a moment before breaking the silence, "My partner here was named after the prince, and grew up to resemble his namesake. Quite the fortunate turn of events."

Erona pointed towards a couple of apprentices who were steering their way around Kael completely, shooting him venomous glares on their way to go do whatever tasks they had been granted, "Or not. It seems to be causing you social problems."

This did nothing to help Kael's self-confidence, though Trixie rubbed his arm supportively as Erona spoke again, "Anyways, you have successfully completed your first task; for that, you are to be congratulated. Such success gives me faith that you will turn out better than those young blood elves who fail to heed the lessons of their masters. Continued success will be rewarded - not only with knowledge, but also with tangible rewards as well."

Erona took out a pouch and handed it to Trixie, who graciously accepted it and took a look inside. What seemed to be round copper coins formed the contents of the bag, which Trixie began to count as Erona continued speaking. Money made the effort all the more enriching to Trixie.

"Your work here, however, is not finished. There is much more to learn, my young friend..." Erona paused as Trixie continued counting, only half listening compared to the more enraptured Kael, "Your effort has made something clear that, honestly, I wish were not true. The unchecked power of the Burning Crystals has maligned a much larger swath of the isle's natural balance than I thought. We must now take on more unfortunate measures to reclaim control."

Trixie finished counting and carefully removed half of the coins in the bag, which she then stuffed inside Kael's bag before realizing she did not have a place to put the pouch she still had in her hand. Erona turned around to point towards where Trixie had woken up, at which point Trixie had a brilliant idea. With Erona's attention elsewhere, Trixie opened up the top of her robe and placed the coin pouch in the only compartment she could think of: the strap-like thing that she had felt inside her robe that was covering her chest. Kael laughed as he noticed her do this, but Erona did not seem to notice or care as she continued speaking.

"The nearby lynxes have succumbed to the influence of the crystals, and they must be put down. Bring me their collars, Trixie, as I may yet be able to fashion a magical restraint to turn some back from being uncontrolled."

Trixie realized that the cats she ran into before must be the lynxes spoken of, which made Trixie all the more willing to take action against them. They were mean kitties.

Still, the order to murder and maim the cats had not been given so Trixie questioned it, "You only need their collars?"

Erona turned back to face them with a smile, "Yes, their collars should be enough for me to finish a cure for the creatures and their malady. Your compassion for the wyrms made me think about alternate ways of handling these problems. Here I will see if rehabilitation is actually possible, after we create my cure."

This was a mission Trixie could be wholly behind, and so she grabbed Kael by his tattered sleeve to drag him towards where she woke up, "Come Kael, we have mean cats to beat up."

They gave the Magistrix their goodbyes, and left to go beat up those mean cats Trixie so loathed. Once behind the building, the two were met with the sight of a whole pack of the beings spread out across the hill that formed the back area of the building. Kael was curious what was over the hill, but Trixie was more focused on the cats who scared her off earlier.

"Since we just need the collars, we should have an easy time leaving them alive," she noted as she began to wonder which one she would need to knock out first.

Kael, however, was more interested in the dead body that lay face-down as a pair of lynxes began tearing into its armored form, "Poor Warrior…"

Trixie recognized the armor as being that of the person who ran to attack the cats earlier. Likely the person in line ahead of them for this particular quest. Erona had not really stressed that it could be dangerous, but then again she seemed to have a detached view of how one was supposed to learn magic other than learn as you go or die.

Trixie felt bad, but at the same time the man who was dead brought it entirely on himself, "He attacked a mob of cats by himself like an idiot."

Seeing the closest lynx, Trixie began to charge up an attack while lamenting she did not know more. Perhaps she would be able to learn more after she was done cleansing the vermin of the isle like a glorified janitor or exterminator.

The cat noticed the light forming in Trixie's hand, and as if it had seen it before the beast began to charge at her. The speed at which the animal moved shocked Trixie, who had not finished the attack by the time it was ready to swipe at her.

Luckily, it did not hit her.

Trixie gasped as she realized Kael had intercepted the attack, his arms wrestling with the cat that had pounced up at her. The possible prince growled as he tossed the animal down, the cat rolling over to prepare another pounce just as a blast of magic struck the back of its head. It weakly stumbled over, still conscious, only for Trixie to quickly knock it out with a kick to the head.

The kick actually hurt Trixie as much as it did the cat, and she grunted in pain as she realized her toes were in immense pain. The cat stopped moving though, and that allowed her to see that it had a collar on. Likely an artifact of its time underneath Blood Elf rule, it had little use for it at this particular moment while Trixie had a great one, so she removed the collar with some joy.

Seeing these events drew the interest of other lynxes though, and just as Trixie began to say "One down" there was already three more running at them.

Once again Kael placed himself in the way, with one beast biting into his leg and another jumping up to bite his shoulder. The third collided directly with his gut with its hard head, causing him to gasp and stop the spell he had been channeling momentarily.

Trixie felt fear grip her at the sight of him in such a dire position, but knew that she couldn't cast her magic fast enough to do much good…

The shimmering metal of the fallen warrior's sword caught her eye. Trixie rushed over to grab the nearby weapon, and as soon as her delicate hands gripped the large blade she turned to swing it at the closest lynx attacking Kael. The blade sliced down its body and made it lose its grip on Kael, who that very moment finished channeling his power to let out a burst of magic that knocked the other two back.

The one still standing growled at them both, and it moved to bite Trixie. She tried swinging at it again, but her blade passed above its body because of her lack of practice with it. The animal fell down either dead or unconscious though when a shard of ice pierced its back. Trixie dropped the blade onto the ground and sighed, glad that there were no other lynxes currently interested in her blood.

Kael, to his credit, was fighting off the pain of his wounds quite well even as his robe continued to fall into disarray. He removed another healing potion from his bag and drank it, a shudder going through his body as the odd tasting medicine took effect. His wounds disappeared to Trixie's delight, as it meant he was fine despite taking all of the damage in that fight.

Thankful but prideful, Trixie crossed her arms over her chest, "I can protect myself, you know."

Kael chuckled at how she had trouble just saying thank you, "I know, but I daresay I am more durable than you, my lady."

Trixie snorted at him, though as her eyes began to trace across him she could see some serious signs of muscle on the otherwise lean body of her partner. The rips in his robe were allowing her to actually see how ripped he was, not that she would say any such thing, "I couldn't tell underneath your dress."

He seemed less interested in the falsehood of her being unable to see his tough body, and more interested in the insult itself, "It's not a dress, it's a robe!"

Trixie stuck her tongue out, "You secretly want to be a woman, don't you?"

Kael was the one crossing his arms this time, only semi-defensive because he knew she meant no harm, "I am very comfortable in being a man, thank you very much. It's not like I have much else at the moment other than being a Blood Elf male who looks like a prince."

"I bet our people thought they had a princess at first, since that fool looks so much like you, wretch," another voice said, causing Trixie and Kael to turn towards it.

A man in a yellow robe who was holding an odd staff of sorts stood staring at them with a wicked smirk. Trixie didn't know who they were or what they were doing, but she did not appreciate their comment whatsoever.

Trixie jabbed a finger in their direction, her voice angry and defensive, "Hey, you stay out of this."

As if the lynxes in the area agreed, one jumped at the yellow robed man and began attacking him. No longer able to dialogue with them, the man turned to do battle with the savage beast while Trixie and Kael each wondered how much they wanted to help him.

After seeing him get chomped a few times, Trixie blasted the lynx and knocked it out. Wounded, the man limped away to go tend to his wounds while Trixie muttered, "Serves them right. The nerve of some people…"

Kael decided to be the one to address her hypocrisy, "You were making fun of me too."

Trixie placed a hand on her chest and let out an odd noise, "Hmmph. Yes, but you are my partner. I have a right that no-one else does."

Hypocritically heartwarming as it was, Kael laughed at her possessiveness over mocking him, "So can I poke fun at how you obviously have no idea about any of what is going on?"

"I am a magical apprentice who is learning so I can go on to defeat the dreadful Scourge and amaze everyone with my supernatural powers!" Trixie responded with a bit of uncertainty, even though she tried to sound like she knew what she was talking about.

"I can assure you they are quite natural to Elves such as us."

"Oh shut up. Can you teach me that fire spell?"

Kael shrugged, not really knowing too much other than the fiery magic came naturally to him, "I am not sure I can. I barely can do it myself. Perhaps we should see about getting you to a mage instructor."

Trixie nodded in understanding as she began to retrieve more collars from the now unresponsive lynxes, "Like the Magistrix?"

"No, she is just in charge of things overall. You should see an actual trainer," Kael clarified, his face turning to one of exasperation as he realized he destroyed most of the collar on one of the lynxes with his magic. Finding collars wouldn't be a 1 to 1 ratio of defeated lynxes it seemed.

Once they pulled together all of the collars in the area and began to pack them away, Trixie decided that she was about done with the foul tempered cats. She needed a rest from all the fighting anyways, since her head was pounding and hurting like never before from what she believed to be her exertion.

"I think that should be enough collars. We really ought to have asked how many they needed."

Before placing the last collar away in Kael's bag, Trixie got a wicked idea. Instead of reaching into his bag, she placed it around Kael's neck. He was too surprised to stop her, and Trixie could not help but laugh at the sight of the man wearing a pet collar.

"Hah, the prince of the Blood Elves is into bondage!"

Kael rolled his eyes, but did not remove it because it seemed to be amusing Trixie so greatly. Still, he would not lose the verbal war, "You put it on me, my lady. Does that not mean you are the one interested in that particular perversion?"

"…shut up."

"That wasn't a no."

Trixie only grumbled as they went to turn in their findings to their teacher, who seemed pleased to see them back. As she greeted them Trixie removed the collars from Kael's bag and handed them over.

"Magistrix, here are your collars."

Erona was pleased to see the collars in relatively good condition, but soon found herself confused when she noticed one was in a weird place.

"Why is he wearing one of them?"

Trixie shrugged, trying to stifle a giggle that arose in her, "I thought it looked good on him."

Not even wanting to get into that subject any further, the Magistrix cleared her throat as she took the collars, including the one Kael removed from his own neck, "Know that it gives me no pleasure to ask you to destroy these beasts. While in times past we have lived in relative harmony with woodland creatures, these are different times. The first order of business for all sin'dorei is survival; make sure you remember that."

Assuming that sin'dorei meant Elf, Trixie decided to just go with it, "Of course," Trixie replied, pleased that perhaps Erona was not completely psychopathic in her ways of cleaning up the isle, "By the way, there is a dead Warrior in the back."

"I was wondering why it was taking him so long. Did you take his things?"

Trixie was confused by the question, but also realized that perhaps they should have brought him, "No, I did not. Do you intend to give them to his family?"

Erona laughed, "His family? I don't even know anything about him other than a lack of intelligence and a tragic case of death. I meant did you loot his corpse. It is common practice in Azeroth to take from the dead, since they are not using their equipment anymore."

Her response unsettled Trixie, who could understand the reasoning but also felt disgusted by the idea of looting someone's corpse…

Erona used the silence as a time to continue speaking to the two, with Kael too nervous to speak up at all, "Now, the tower and surrounding areas should now be relatively secure, though only for the time being. You have done well in providing us with a buffer of security, but we will need to reassert control over the entire isle if we are to survive here in the long run. This will involve tackling much greater threats than errant mana wyrms and lynxes."

The Magistrix took from the ground a small bag and handed it over to Trixie who realized she could wear it on her hip by attaching it to the cloth belt she had on, "Take this, Trixie. You will no doubt make good use of it for the tasks to come."

Trixie thanked the Magistrix when a yawn escaped her lips. Wow, she realized she really was tired. She stretched out after putting the bag in place and another yawn let its way out of her, "Can we take a break first? All this magic is making my body ache."

Erona gestured to the building they had been around so long, yet had yet to enter, "Oh, of course. You may rest inside if you feel the need. Come back to me when you wish to continue your training."

Trixie and Kael nodded, each of them moving to approach the building. Once again speaking only to Trixie, Kael decided to mention something he found out before meeting her.

"The mage trainer should be inside. I heard some of the others talking about her."

"Let us see about learning some new tricks!"

"I can't tell if that was a bad pun or if you were being sincere."

"…shut up. Anyways, while we're resting I want to hear some stories about what is going on."

* * *

_**A/N: Thank you for reading, and please leave your thoughts in the review section below!**_


	3. Rest Experience

Trixie had taken it upon herself to be the one asking around for the mage trainer inside the building while Kael trailed behind silently. Since he was getting odd looks from some still, the brunt of conversations were left to Trixie to handle.

Sadly, despite asking around for what felt like forever, Trixie could not track down someone who knew where the mage trainer was. In fact, everyone seemed unhelpful for those who might have known and the ones who were clueless spent no effort in helping them beyond that point. Not even a point in the right direction.

This changed when a yawning man who was laying down on a pillow in the corner of the circular and one room building made her think that perhaps a more sleepy person might not be decidedly unhelpful because of her company.

"Excuse me, do you know where the magic trainer is for new mages?"

The man on the ground rubbed his eyes drowsily, another yawn escaping his lips as he worked on staying awake and responding to the question posed, "I apologize, but the mage trainer is sick today. Would you mind coming back tomorrow when they are better?"

Trixie lit up in excitement. Even if it meant that the teacher was not there, it meant they would be in the future and she just wasn't being ignored by whoever it was. Trixie gave a small bow in thanks for the information, "Of course," she looked back to Kael and beckoned him to come closer, "Where would we be sleeping for the night, however?"

The man on the ground shrugged, "Some sleep here, but there is an inn across the plains and through an area overrun by the Wretched. The inn has more privacy and is nicer in my opinion. A wagon should be running there soon, if you would like to go."

Kael shrugged too, not caring about the location they slept, while Trixie smiled to the helpful Elf, "I don't see why not. My whole body is aching as it is. Thank you for the help, and we will see you tomorrow."

Trixie did not wait for a response before turning on her heel and grabbing Kael by his tattered sleeve, desperate to leave behind the people being so rude to her one and only friend.

Kael, apathetic to the disgust being shown to him, just let her drag him away while giving a parting wave to the man who helped them out.

The man returned the wave while continuing to yawn, "Be safe you two!" he paused as they left the open building with its lack of a door, only to then yell after them as he thought of something else, "Or don't! We're kind of going extinct as it is…"

Trixie didn't get it, but Kael started laughing as he was pulled towards the wagon.

* * *

Night fell quickly over the landscape, and in the time Trixie was inside it went from looking like mid-afternoon to the dead of night. She wanted to get a better look around while she was riding, see what the sleepy man had spoken about, but the lack of light prevented her from really telling anything. That, and she was finding it difficult to pay attention to the surroundings as her eyes were drawn to Kael's hands. He was using a small bit of fire magic to grant some light, and Trixie smiled as she watched it flicker back and forth in his palm.

The ride was quite short, only taking a couple minutes, so Trixie found herself being led to the so called inn before she could even take in anything else about the area. The wagon driver had someone take his horses away and park the vehicle while he brought Kael and Trixie inside their home for the night.

On the way in, Trixie noticed two things however: the lack of a door again which made her question the heating of the structure, and also the blue drapes that swayed in the night air and formed the only "door"-like thing of the building. As Trixie passed them, she pulled on Kael's sleeve to get his attention.

"Ooh, blue drapes. I like blue."

Kael stopped and smiled, all the while questioning the structure's odd opening which was shaped like a straightened and rotated S before opening into the main chamber of the building, "It is my favorite color."

Trixie rose a long silver eyebrow at him, genuinely curious about what he said, "It is? I would have guessed red was."

Kael sighed, a part of him telling him that this was not the first time someone had made that mistake, "The color one wears does not mean it is their favorite color."

Now inside, the two took a look around the structure. The rectangle shaped building was dim and had an intricate architecture lining its walls, with a periwinkle purple table sitting atop a darker purple rug right by the entrance. Given the seats placed around it, Kael assumed it to be a dining table while Trixie did not give its use any thought, since her mind was on the color of it.

Trixie pointed first to the table, making sure not to be gesturing to its golden accents and to be pointing at its main color, "Well, mine is purple, in case you ever buy me anything. I look good in it," she then lowered her finger to point at the floor's rug, which she was by no means fond of, "Lavender purple. Not violet purple or whatever this is."

Kael tried to come up with a description for it, but found himself grasping at straws while secretly wishing he could take a seat in one of the L shaped chairs despite their low seats and short legs. His legs were killing him from all the standing he was doing that day, though to be honest the ached ever since he awoke in the Isle without any memory as to how he got there, "Grape purple?"

Trixie let the issue drop as a woman with brown hair, a white shirt that revealed her full cleavage, and a red skirt approached them from the back of the building, revealing to the two a staircase in the back they had not noticed before.

The woman bowed to the two as she introduced herself, "Welcome to Falconwing Square Inn. I am Delaniel, the innkeeper here. May I prepare a meal for you, or ready a room?"

"A meal would be nice, but we are here for the night," Trixie responded, realizing that her skinny stomach was actually rumbling. She had been aching so much across the rest of her body that it did not occur to her before that she was hungry, for she merely thought she was suffering of a hurt stomach after a day of physical activity.

The innkeeper nodded before quickly snapping her fingers as she remembered something, "Actually, I am sorry, but we only have one room and bed available tonight. Will that be okay for you and your…" she looked over the disheveled Kael'Thas with interest, "partner?"

Trixie scoffed as she pulled out her coin bag and removed a few coins, causing Kael to reach into his bag and do the same, "Of course, we only needed one room to begin with."

_"E'ast?" (One bed) the_ woman replied with some shock. Not that she did not have regulars come by her inn with a bedfellow, but she was still surprised by the boldness demonstrated.

Trixie, for her part, was simply being cheap. She had never intended to spend twice as much money when one room could house both her and her companion. The idea that it was odd or carried connotations with it completely went over her head as she paid the woman up front with some copper pieces, Kael doing the same.

Actually able to understand what the innkeeper said, Kael gave her a sheepish smile while responding, _"A'ther." (Thank you)_

Delaniel chuckled as she realized that this must be a new couple, given that he seemed embarrassed while his companion was more open about it, "I don't see that many young couples these days. Well, take a seat and relax yourselves. I will ready a meal and your room. Are there any dishes in particular you would like?"

Trixie nodded readily as she moved to sit down at the table, Kael following suit, "Bread and hay would be nice. Thank you again."

Delaniel continued to laugh, though it was more nervous this time around, "Hay is for horses."

Trixie blinked. Why had she asked for hay? Huh…

To not embarrass herself further, Trixie laughed at herself and what she said, trying to play it off as something other than a mistake, "A joke, haha," she cleared her throat before repeating herself, "Bread then, please. And whatever plants grow nearby please."

Kael gave her a look of interest, as he could tell that she had not in fact been joking. He kept his curiosity to himself though as the innkeeper turned to him for his own order.

Kael cleared his throat and pointed to an assortment of food and drink lined on a bar on the far side of the inn's first floor, "I too would like some bread, though that fruit pie you have seems delectable as well. May I have some of that and the Moonberry juice you have?"

Trixie looked over to it and whiffed it with her nose, "May I have some of that blueberry pie too?"

"It's cherry," Delaniel responded, beginning to get the feeling that this poor girl wasn't all there. Good thing she had a guy to look after her, Delaniel thought.

After a moment, Trixie mumbled, "…I don't like cherry," her stomach continued to rumble as she thought about food. Certain preferences were coming back to her, like her interest in bread and butter, "Is there blueberry? Or apple. Apple sounds delicious, but blueberry is my favorite," unable to really recall why that was, Trixie had a vague feeling it had to do with whoever her mom was for some reason, "I think I get it from my mother."

Eager to please, Delaniel smiled to Trixie before going into the back, "I will see what I have."

Once their host left them, Trixie found herself instantly drawn to the bottle and glasses already on the table. The shape of the bottle and the glasses, as well as a unique smell, gave Trixie a good idea about what was in front of them, "Ooh, is this alcohol?"

"Yes, it seems to be," Kael responded, not wanting to actually drink it and instead waiting for the juice he ordered. Trixie, on the other hand, grabbed the wine bottle and opened it up with a look of glee on her face.

"I never got to drink fine wine before!" she paused to bring a finger to her chin, "Or, at least I don't think it's something I've done."

"Be careful not to ingest too much. I prefer coherent company," Kael deadpanned, all the while looking at Trixie's legs. Not for any perverted reason, as her body was fully clothed by her purple robes, but because of how Trixie had sat down. Delaniel had not been able to see it because of the back of the tall chair getting in the way, but Trixie was sitting like an animal might…legs spread apart but bent so that she was sitting, and her hands rested in-between them when they were not in use.

Trixie held a finger up to him to shush him while she chugged down a full glass of the whine, stopping to wipe her lips before cheekily sticking her tongue out at her partner, "Sorry, what was that? I was busy enjoying myself."

Despite her odd idiosyncrasies, Kael decided to let the whole matter go. No reason to really care why his friend was so odd, he only needed to accept her for who she was just like she was doing for him. Unlike so many of the other Elves they had met…

Kael waved a hand to dismiss the matter, "Never mind. I am just glad the day is over."

Seeing that Kael was not going to be drinking any, Trixie brought the bottle to her mouth instead and began to drink it straight from the source. She did not remember ever tasting something so great, though to be honest she had little to nothing to compare it to. Still, it felt awesome, and so she was not going to stop anytime soon.

Kael watched with both parts amusement and confusion as Trixie chugged the bottle down until it was half-done, only to then turn to him and point at him using the wine bottle, "Okay, now that we have time, talk."

"About what?" Kael responded with further confusion. It seemed like she wasn't being general about it, but he did not know what the soon to be intoxicated woman wanted to discuss.

Trixie shrugged and gestured around to the entire surrounding area, "You know more than I do, so what's going on here? I honestly need help, and I don't know anyone I could trust more to explain the situation."

"More than you means practically nothing given how little you know?" Kael said back as a question, not really sure what to say. He knew some things, but it wasn't like his mind was a library he could draw from and tell her things from. On occasion since he woke up he would remember something, but in reality he was little better off than his companion.

"Are you accusing me of being stupid?" Trixie pouted as she finally put the bottle down so that she could accept the plate of bread being handed to her from Delaniel from behind.

Kael thanked their server as he shook his head, taking his own food and placing it down in front of himself on the table, "Stupid? No. Ignorant? Yes, I could be said to be accusing you of that."

"Are you accusing me of that?" Trixie questioned further, only for Kael to shrug and laugh.

"I feel there is no way to win this conversation, so I will begin by saying that I remember just a little about our culture. Not enough really to be useful."

"Blood Elf culture…" Trixie paused as she thought back to what the Magistrix said earlier, "Or was it Sin'dory?"

"Sin'dorei," Kael corrected with a smile, currently amused by how she continued to sit in such an odd way. She really was a character, even if she was clueless at the moment. And about to be very drunk. She quickly began to tend to her food, which was a loaf of bread and a whole blueberry pie, and Kael found himself surprised by how fast she managed to cut the bread into slices in a systematic fashion only to then butter it with the butter provided along with her food. How quickly she did it made him think that perhaps she had eaten a lot of this cheap, common fare food before.

Trixie pointed the knife she was using to cut the bread at him briefly, "Yes, that. Tell me more about those."

Delaniel gasped softly as she finished handing over the last pieces of their meal, "Oh my, is your companion suffering from some kind of memory loss, sir?"

To make Trixie feel less embarrassed, Kael spoke up about his own issues as well, "We both are, to be honest."

"What a shame," Delaniel sighed, only to then realize that Trixie had already finished half a loaf of bread. She ran into the back and grabbed another loaf of bread for her customer, "Here you go," Trixie thanked her in-between bites, causing Kael to laugh at how thoroughly starved his friend must have been. Seeing that the two were enjoying themselves, and not particularly fond of the moaning coming from upstairs, Delaniel decided to stay with her present company, "Mind if I join you? Things are slow right now, and I don't think there will be anyone else coming by tonight."

Kael gestured to the vacant seat next to Trixie, "Go ahead."

Delaniel took the seat, instantly noticing that the girl was sitting weirdly beside her before not caring just as quickly, "Thank you. I can share any information you two need. Where shall I begin?"

"How about…" Trixie laughed as she realized how utterly confused she was in general. Beside her, Kael was actually surprised that Trixie was not yet displaying actual signs of being any level of intoxicated, "Well, pretend I know nothing about Blood Elves and go from there. Just pretending of course."

Delaniel nodded before clearing her voice and preparing to tell a story, "Of course. Now, long ago the exiled race known as the High Elves landed on the shores of Lordaeron. These are our ancestors, who had been changed by their usage of arcane magic and driven out by their Night Elf brethren for simply using magic like we do."

"These Night Elves sound like jerks," Trixie grunted. Prejudice over just basic magic? That was just mean. At least, it seemed that way with what little she knew.

"They tend to be even more stuck up than we are, and we are known for being the most stuck up member of our nation's alliance," Delaniel continued, "Now, we struck out to find a new home, and after many battles with the trolls, established the kingdom of Quel'Thalas. Using a vial of sacred water stolen from a Night Elven source known as the Well of Eternity, the High Elves created a fount of mystical power at a convergence of ley energies in Quel'Thalas. They named this fountain the Sunwell. Its potent arcane magic fed and strengthened the High Elves, and soon the wondrous city of Silvermoon was established."

"What's ley energy?" Trixie piped up again, trying to follow the best she could as she ate and listened. Kael actually gave his bread over to Trixie so that she could devour it, and he found himself amused at the sheer speed at which she managed to consume it all.

Less interested in Trixie's oddities, Delaniel kept talking, "Think of it as magic energy that comes from the land itself that lines the ground and provides extreme power to those who harness it," she cleared her throat to get back to telling the tale of their people, "Anyways, protected by a magical barrier, the High Elves enjoyed peace for roughly four thousand years, but that peace was not meant to last. The tribe of trolls known as the Amani gathered an immense army and assaulted the elven kingdom. Vastly outnumbered, the High Elves hastily struck an alliance with the human nation of Arathor. The elves taught a small number of humans how to wield magic. In exchange the humans aided the elves in destroying the trolls' power base forever."

Once again, Trixie interrupted to ask a question about things she felt like she should know, "What's a human? And what's a troll?"

"A human is like a broader, less refined, Elf with nowhere near as much magical ability and a far greater tendency towards betrayal. Trolls are taller, but have poorer posture and are colored anything you might find in the rainbow. Except maybe purple. I have not seem a purple troll yet, but I have quite some time left to do so," Delaniel answered, seemingly amused by the idea of seeing a purple Troll.

Trixie began to work on her pie, though she began to eat it directly off its tray instead of using a knife to cut it up. Kael laughed as Trixie pulled her face back and revealed that the lower half her face was blue. Beneath the pie on her face, Trixie blushed as she felt silly and like her manners were not quite suited for her present company. Was she supposed to eat differently?

In any case, Trixie did not want to be purple or blue even if she liked those colors. She felt bad for the Trolls, since seemingly being those colors was not normal here. They must face issues because of their different skin color, since something told Trixie that looking different meant being treated differently.

Trying not to laugh at her paying client, Delaniel did her best to continue her story without making fun of Trixie, "Over the following years we High Elves returned to our reclusive ways, but during the major conflict known as the Third War, the diabolical Prince Arthas Menethil, under influence of the nefarious Lich King and following the orders of the demonic Burning Legion, brought battle once again to our doorstep. "

By then Delaniel had calmed down, and her face was actually one of anger. Trixie felt chills go down her spine at the change, and a look over to Kael revealed that he had lost any amusement that had been in his face. He actually seemed angry, as if he had remembered something.

Keeping her own temper in check, Delaniel grunted before she went on, "Arthas required the power of the Sunwell to revive the necromancer Kel'Thuzad and raise him as a lich. He invaded Quel'Thalas and wiped out most of its population. In the end, even our King Anasterian Sunstrider lay dead."

That made Trixie look back at Kael, who was clenching his fists underneath the table angrily. She brought a hand over to touch his hand to comfort him, the fist softening slightly at the touch.

If Kael'Thas was prince Kael'Thas Sunstrider, that would mean that…well…

"Additionally it became clear that the High Elves had become addicted to the Sunwell's arcane energies. Now that the source of their magic was gone, the few remaining High Elves quickly grew ill and apathetic."

"Wait, I'm addicted to magic?" Trixie scoffed, not at all happy to learn this. Kael seemed surprised as well, though he kept quiet because of how angry he was about this news.

However, the addiction WOULD explain why her entire body ached at all times. Withdrawal and all.

Delaniel nodded, her response terse, "Yes."

"Oh…" Trixie paused as she thought about what to do, quickly realizing she did not have a clue about how to confront this issue, "How do I fix that?"

Delaniel reached into a pocket and pulled out some shining gems, "I have some magic crystals that you can crush and replenish yourselves. Remember to keep yourself energized, as falling too far into addiction will cause a physical transformation into a being so wretched…" she laughed, "Well, that they are called Wretched."

Trixie held her hands out for the crystals, desperate to stop the constant pain she was feeling, "Magic please."

Delaniel snorted as she handed over the crystals to Trixie and Kael, who each crushed the soft gems in their hands. Once crushed, a glow emanated from the broken gems. This glow floated towards each of them, only to touch and enter their bodies without them doing anything else. Trixie instantly felt some of the pain leave her, while Kael barely felt different.

"There are also ways of siphoning it from other sources, but you will have to speak to a magic trainer about that," Delaniel explained.

"Now, are you ready for the story again?" Trixie and Kael both nodded yes, so Delaniel continued her expositional onslaught that was sadly necessary for them to underdstand, "Prince Kael'thas, last of the royal line and who looks just like you handsome, returned from his studies in Dalaran to find Quel'Thalas in ruins. Thirsting for vengeance, he gathered the survivors, renamed our kind Blood Elves to honor our fallen, and took a group of the strongest fighters to join Lordaeron's campaign against the Scourge."

Trixie nudged Kael with a smirk, comfortable in doing so in front of Delaniel since Delaniel seemed to think Kael was just a lookalike, "He sounds like a valiant and great man. Right?"

Delaniel shrugged, causing Trixie some concern since it wasn't a straight up yes, "Perhaps. Due to human prejudice placing him and his people in a dangerous position, Kael'thas was forced to accept the assistance of a woman known as Lady Vashj and her reptilian Naga. When the humans and their leader Garithos discovered that the Blood Elves had been working with the Naga, Kael'thas and the others were imprisoned and condemned to death."

That infuriated Trixie immensely. The idea of someone being needlessly cruel and judging someone else only based on their race was just wrong, and she felt like making her opinion known to this monstrous man.

Trixie slammed a fist down on the table while Kael began to look down at the floor blankly, "Where may I go yell at this terrible man Garithos and his similarly terrible followers?"

"A graveyard, though sadly he was not slain by one of our own…kind of," Delaniel offered no explanation before continuing further, "Lady Vashj soon arrived to set them free, leading them through a portal and into the broken wastes of Outland. There, the elves met the one being capable of putting an end to their hunger: the renegade night elf-demon hybrid, Illidan Stormrage. Certain that the Blood Elves would die without Illidan's assistance, Kael'thas agreed to serve the man known by the Night Elves as 'the Betrayer.'"

The sound of a not-mean Night Elf made Trixie smile. Perhaps they were not all as judgmental and cruel as previously thought, "This Illidan guy sounds like he's not as mean as the other Night Elves. Even if he is a demon, which sounds like it's a bad thing."

Delaniel smiled as she stood up from the table to go grab something, "He is also quite handsome. With his glowing twin blades of Azzinoth, he makes for quite the fine specimen…" she removed a piece of paper from a drawer and sighed happily as she looked at it, "Because of his wings he can't wear normal shirts, so very little is left to the imagination…"

Curious as to what she was looking at, Trixie soon had her question answered as Delaniel returned and handed Trixie a picture of this Illidan,"Here is a picture."

The man had a piece of cloth covering his eyes, curled horns coming from his head, large and unhealthy looking wings sprouting from his back, and feet that were more like hooves. Those features together made Trixie a little uneasy, though she was curious about his hooves for some reason she could not explain. Outside of his more grisly looks though, he had a very muscular body and looked to be the size of many Kael'Thases.

Trixie looked over to her companion and looked inside the holes of his clothing again. He was quite fit, though he simply could not compare to the gigantic Night Elf-demon thing. Trixie continued to squeeze Kael's hand in support, since she could sense that all of this was biting at him.

Looking back at the picture, Trixie noticed something: a glowing green blade being wielded by Illidan. It had a very appealing design, with curves along its bow shaped form, as well as the face of what Trixie believed was called a panda. Why she knew that and not some other useful piece of information she did not know, but she thought it funny that such a odd looking man had what was known as a fuzzy and cute animal on his weapon.

On a personal level though, Trixie wanted that blade. Or a replica. The glowing green sheen, the panda face, and the overall awesome curves and appearance of it made Trixie just want to possess it even if she knew not how to use a blade like it.

After swooning over the picture for a little while longer, Delaniel decided to bring her tale to a close, "Since then, a lone representative, Rommath, was sent back to Azeroth with a message of hope for the Blood Elves remaining in Quel'Thalas: that one day Kael'thas would return to lead his people to paradise. Rommath had made great progress in teaching the Blood Elves advanced techniques to manipulate arcane energies. With renewed purpose, we Blood Elves have rebuilt the city of Silvermoon, located close by, though it is powered by volatile magics. Emboldened by the promise of Kael'thas' return, the weary citizens of Quel'Thalas now are focusing on regaining our strength, even as we forge a new path into an uncertain future."

She paused, once again giving Trixie a sense of concern, "But…"

"But?" Trixie questioned, not liking the sound of that.

"Well, there are rumors spreading around of a most disheartening matter," the innkeeper lowered her voice to a whisper, "Rumors have long spread amongst our kind like fire through a forest, but the nature of these are quite…"

She looked around to make sure none of the inhabitants upstairs had come down before continuing, "You didn't hear it from me, but there is word going around that our Prince is…allied with the Burning Legion."

Trixie might be new to it all, but she had learned enough to know that that was a very bad thing. Looking over to Kael, she could see that his face had gone pale even as he continued to stare at the ground blankly.

Delaniel scowled at the mere thought of her leader turning on their people, "The Burning Legion were the ones who brought the Scourge into this world, I hear. The ones who guided Arthas. They are the cause for all that has happened to us. For our beloved prince, who has for so long fought to save our people, to turn and join them crushes one's soul."

Seeing the state of the Kael-lookalike and the now worried Trixie, Delaniel decided to call it quits there. She had said enough, and it was getting late. She stood up and took some of the finished plates from the table.

"Anyways, it is getting late. You will need your rest for your continued training, so I won't bother you any more."

Trixie nodded to her, a smile upon her face despite everything. At least she knew now these terrible things, "Thank you for everything."

With Delaniel gone, Trixie stood up as well and tried to pull Kael up too.

"Come on. It's okay."

* * *

Once they found their room, which happened to not have a door either, Trixie sat Kael down on their singular bed and took the space beside him.

"Are you okay?"

The glow of his eyes helped hide it, but Trixie could see that the man was nearly crying, "I…"

Trixie continued to hold his hand to comfort him. The poor man had little to no memory, and yet he was now faced with a shattering discovery of possible crimes and misdeeds he had done, in addition to the general sadness of his race, "Do you really think you're this Prince everyone is talking about?"

"It feels like I am…" Kael leaned back on the bed, losing his strength to stay up as he became more distraught at the possibility of being a terrible person, "My name…what little I can remember…her words seemed quite familiar."

Trixie did not lay down too, but she did move back on the bed so that she could run a hand across his cheek to take away a tear. He was her only friend right now, and he was hurting bad, so she would try to help him however she could.

"Perhaps we should find you something to wear to conceal your face."

Kael shot Trixie a look, only for her to quickly follow it up with a smile and explanation, "I do not care who you are or were so long as you continue to be the gentleman you have been this whole time, but others have their own prejudices. We will attract less attention if you cover your face."

While overall forlorn because of what he learned that night, Kael felt a glimmer of happiness due to the support shown to him, "I suppose you are correct."

Trixie stood up and placed her hands on her hips, tilting her head back for a haughty laugh, "Of course I am. I'm always right."

"Even when you think you can challenge a sociopathic Hunter and win, and you lose?" Kael snarked from the bed, moving so that he could lay the correct way on it. It was not a terribly large bed, and while that might be fine for…certain activities where space was conserved, it did not make the fact that he would be sharing it with his clueless partner any easier.

Trixie, meanwhile, was approaching a mirror in the room she had just noticed. She was quite curious about what she looked like, so the fact the room came with one pleased her.

"Oh ha-ha. Very funny Kael."

As Trixie began to look herself over, Kael let his sore body collapse fully on the bed, "Thank you…"

Trixie could not find it in herself to just say "You're welcome", since that would be an admission that she was being very kind and generous and deep down, actual praise made her uncomfortable. She was acting tough and proud based on her insecurity, so actually receiving real thanks made her feel extremely modest.

Instead of replying to him, Trixie finished taking in her looks. Not really caring that Kael could see, Trixie began to disrobe. She felt odd in the full clothing, and did not really get why everyone was being so modest. Yes, her experience with her chest before was embarrassing, but it was embarrassing because of her lack of knowledge and how she asked Kael about it, not because of the actual organs sitting atop her slim frame.

Underneath the robe she was still wearing an odd piece of cloth that bound around her chest, covering the spots Trixie did not intend to touch again, and another that looked like a very, very small pair of shorts. So small that it barely covered anything more than her crotch.

Ignoring these garments, Trixie was able to do what she intended to do: see what she looked like without the interference of her robes.

Her eyes were the thing that interested her the most. They were purple instead of green, which made Trixie curious as to why hers were different. She decided to look into it later, and decided to move down. Her face was quite normal, at least by what she had seen of Blood Elf faces, and she could not tell if she was pretty or not. She wanted to think she was though, so she decided to use herself as a benchmark for what would there on out count as "pretty".

Moving further down were the things causing her back more pain, and Trixie was about done observing them for the day. Further down was a flat stomach that also held some firmness to it, though Trixie felt positively weak compared to the muscular man across the room. Ignoring this, Trixie's eyes then fell to her hips, which she noticed were much wider than those she had witnessed on other females. In fact, they looked to be little larger, despite being wider overall. Trixie blushed at the thought of what this could do for her, and instantly blocked out all related thoughts.

Behind her, Kael too was observing her, taking in her body and trying to forget his sorrows as he realized that he was going to be sleeping next to this that night. He began to pray that she would put the robe back on, but Trixie decided to feel comfortable and left the robe where it was as she circled back to the bed. She blew out the blue colored candles on her way to the bed, and when she climbed on top Kael felt himself being pushed to one side.

Brushing up against him, Trixie felt the cloth of his torn clothes and decided that the feeling was bad as was the appearance of the thoroughly used clothing, "Perhaps we should also get you a new set of clothes tomorrow. Your current ones are in poor shape."

Kael snorted at her small insult, expecting her to have at least said by then some kind of "you're welcome". Trixie could feel that it was expected of her, so she huffed as she asked, "What? Just because I'm haughty doesn't mean I know how to tell someone they're welcome that I'm so gracious."

That was enough for him, and Kael found himself trying not to look at or touch Trixie as she made herself comfortable beneath the covers like he had already done without thinking.

"Now stay on your side of the bed. You are paying for half the room after all, so stay there," Trixie commanded, only for Kael to snark.

"There really are not halves to this structure…"

"…fine. To conserve space you may wrap your arms around me and we will intertwine and overlap our legs."

Kael was beginning to want to sleep on the floor. This woman had no sense of personal space at all, or at least not a conventional one.

"Goodnight, partner."

Still…she was there for him, even after hearing that he possibly was an evil man who sold out their race. She seemed to want to be supportive of him and be close to him, so he would allow it.

_"Fale'shorel, O'thal'ronae..."_ _(Good night, my peaceful friend)_ He whispered back as he closed his eyes.

As she began to drift off into sleep Trixie smiled at his words, even if she could not understand them.

She would make him teach her the pretty words another day.

* * *

**Author's Note: ****_Thanks for reading, and I hope that I can hear your thoughts in the reviews below! Reviews are helpful after all!_**


	4. Level 3: Tomes of Fire and Ice

After a breakfast of buttered toast and juice, Kael and Trixie set back to the training ground on Sunstrider Isle. Fortunately for them the wagon was leaving just as they intended to head back, though neither of the two paid much attention to their surroundings as they took the short ride back.

Kael had been wracked with terrible dreams all night, and the time he had been awake he had been trying to ignore how there was a half naked woman beside him. Trixie, on the other hand, had trouble making herself comfortable as she slept because it didn't feel right. Like everything was wrong and she couldn't pin down exactly what was causing it.

The innkeeper had given Kael a small red mask to wear over his lower face, saying she had picked it up from a traveling human girl who had stayed in the Inn one night and left the next. While the Blood Elves were no fans of humans, she had a hard time saying no to a teenage girl who seemed to be homeless and in need of shelter. The girl seemed to have forgotten the red cloth, and since it had been years there was much doubt that it would ever be recovered.

Kael wore it over his face like a bandit might, trying to pass himself off as a traveling Rogue instead of just a mage. Mages were more prone to getting mugged by other travelers he had heard some of the others staying at the inn mention, so he tried to look menacing with it.

Trixie did not have the heart to tell him that he just looked silly, and that he was actually kind of cute trying to look mean. Not that she meant anything weird about that though. They were just friends after all…

Trixie shook her head to stop staring at him and his poofy, long eyebrows that partially defied gravity.

With Kael's face covered halfway, the two managed to not be dismissed when they went looking for the magic trainer again. It appeared the Elves in the area either had short memories or simply were not paying enough attention to care the second time, but in either case Trixie found the woman in question within moments of asking around. She was located in the building right by where Magistrix Erona stood vigilantly, and wore a distinct red and black dress that revealed a vertical strip of her stomach and also of her cleavage in the most bizarre design Trixie had ever seen.

Despite the odd dress choice, Trixie ignored it as she introduced herself to the woman, "Hello, I am Trixie Lulamoon, a new student here, and this here is my partner. I was told you could help me with my magic, since my understanding right now is quite basic."

Trixie's words seemed to please the woman, who smiled brightly at the sight of the two robed Elves before her, "I am Julia Sunstriker. It is a pleasure to see two aspiring mages in this age of strife."

"Are there less mages than before?" Trixie asked in an attempt to learn more about her culture.

"Of course! Before almost every High Elf could be considered a mage in one way or another, but now there are those who shirk their arcane studies to instead focus on wielding a sword or bow exclusively. Once upon a time those were hobbies and things of sport…"

Julia's voice trailed off and she frowned at the thought of Elves being barbaric Warriors and Hunters. Such things were to be left to either the gifted, such as the deceased Ranger General of their kingdom, or to the dull witted in her opinion.

Snapping out of her thoughts, the teacher tried smiling again even if it appeared fake, "Anyways, I apologize. You came here to learn new magic, have you not?"

Trixie flashed a smile back while bringing a hand to her head nervously, "Yes, I am quite new to this. Any aid you can give would be appreciated."

"Well, I know spells quite well, but you would have to speak to someone else if you want to gain actual knowledge on how it all works," the woman turned around and began to scan through a bookshelf for something, "Though I do know that as you begin to grow in power, your connection to the arcane will develop, granting you access to new spells."

After a brief amount of searching, she found what she was looking for and laughed as she pulled a standard blue book from the shelf with archaic symbols on its cover. This done, she handed the book back to Trixie, "Here you go. In there is a spell most know as Frost Nova. Included in that book are also the Frostbolt spell, Ice Lance, and other such cool spells," turning around to face her, the teacher flashed Trixie a toothy grin, "That will be one gold piece."

Trixie was astonished by the request for money. She had expected to get her training for free!

"You're _charging_ me?"

Julia laughed at the surprised look on Trixie, "What, you don't expect me to give away a copy of _Reicom's Tome of Ice_ for free do you?"

Trixie frowned at the woman and placed her hands on her hips, the book still in her right hand, "Aren't you just supposed to teach me what is in the book, not just sell it to me?"

"All beginners need a spellbook to refer to," the teacher countered, her voice revealing her amusement at Trixie's lack of understanding for how this all worked. Her next glance was over to Kael, who had been trying to draw as little attention to himself as possible, "I also have one that focuses on fire magic. _Mr. Match's guide to Fire, Torching, Heat, and Flame_!"

She handed a book with a crimson cover and a fire symbol on it to the man, who accepted it despite knowing that it would cost him money he was not sure he had. Speaking up could reveal who he was after all, since he did not know who knew what and there could be grave consequences should his identity be found out.

Thinking she could pawn more books off on the newbies, Julia looked back to grab one last tome to hand to them.

"Lastly, there is a book that…" she paused before actually touching it, and after a moment she decided to not do so at all, "Know what, I think I'll keep this one to myself. Just in case the rumors are true…"

Not wanting her magical studies to be stunted by a teacher's insecurity, Trixie balked at the hesitation displayed, "Why can't we see the last book?"

"Well, Prince Sunstrider was the one who wrote it…" the woman spoke in a whisper, not knowing that she was perhaps speaking to the man in question, "If he really is evil like everyone says, then I might get in trouble if I give it to beginners!"

Not wanting to discuss the topic further and possibly unnerve Kael, Trixie quickly changed the subject to the book already in her possession, "I am a starving student. How can I give you gold?"

"Well, one hundred copper pieces make one silver piece, and one hundred silver is equal to one gold," came the toothy explanation. Trixie wanted to grumble about how she doubted all teachers were this extorting, but kept it to herself as she considered her total funds.

"With that in mind I am way off…"

Kael prodded Trixie, who looked back to see that he was holding out his hand to give her something in its palm. She rose her brow in confusion before accepting what she assumed to be money, only to find a small object instead in her palm.

A beautiful platinum ring with an orange gem proved to be quite the surprise to Trixie, who gasped slightly at the sight. How had Kael gotten such a beautiful item?

Trixie wanted it for herself, but she wanted magic more, so she held the ring out to the greedy woman.

"What if I sold this? For the books."

The sight of the ring made the teacher see quite the deal. It was worth just over six gold from its components, but…

She gasped as she recognized the specific qualities of the ring as one she had seen before. A ring that once belonged to a famous woman…

"Oh my. This belonged to…" Julia pushed Trixie's hand closed around the ring and quickly asserted her newfound lack of greed, "You must be a friend of Lady Windrunner. _Please_, take the books free of charge."

Trixie did not know who this "Windrunner" was, but she could appreciate free things.

"Thank you?"

This being done, Julia looked to the man who had pulled the ring out to see if he was anyone important. With his face partially obscured she couldn't really tell, but got a familiar feeling from what she could see, "Hey, you look kind of familiar. What's with the face cover?"

Not wanting a person in a position of some power to start wondering about Kael, Trixie grabbed him by one of his torn sleeves and began to drag him away while retreating from the building, "He's got a bad skin condition, so we should probably get that checked out, thank-you-bye!"

Their escape was easy because of the lack of distance to the exit, and the greedy teacher made no pursuit. Once outside Trixie gave Kael his ring back, which he then played around with in his fingers.

"I guess I will hold onto this."

Trixie crossed her arms and frowned at Kael. Seeing the ring and hearing of its origins made her suspicious, though she couldn't pin down her exact feelings why, "_Who_ is Lady Windrunner?"

Honestly not knowing, Kael shrugged. He had just intended to trade the ring for the books. He had woken up with it in his pocket after all, so it wasn't like he would be losing that much for something far more useful, "An Elf noblewoman perhaps."

There were no good answers for the next question on Trixie's mind, which she was well aware of, "And _why_ do you have her ring?"

"I…" hearing the accusation in her voice, Kael feared that perhaps this small thing could make his only friend mistrust him and so he sought a way to mend things, "We'll have to answer that another day, as I do not know. I doubt I stole it. Maybe I found it?"

There were other ways that Kael could have come across the ring, but Trixie did not want to entertain those thoughts. Her partner was no womanizing thief after all, even if she could admit he could be a ladykiller if he tried, "I do not care for this topic anymore. Let me try out this magic book you so graciously provided me."

Trixie took a glance at the symbols on the front of the book, realized she could not understand any of them, and them took a look inside. Seeing that this too yielded nothing she could read, Trixie groaned as she realized she just got a book she couldn't even begin to read. To think that she had nearly bought it!

"I can't read this," Trixie quietly pouted, not wanting any of the other Elves in the area to overhear her. She felt embarrassed by her lack of comprehension, while Kael seemed to be amused by her pouting expression.

"Oh right, you don't seem to understand Thalassian…"

Trixie looked away as she continued to pout, "I don't even know what Thalassian is."

There was no getting around it if Trixie wanted to expand her knowledge, she needed to understand what she was reading. Kael sighed as he realized he was going to have to play the role of kindergarten teacher, "This will take awhile…want me to teach you? I remember how to read this, just as I remember a couple spells."

If it was someone else, Trixie would have been too proud to agree, but this was a polite gentlemen she had grown to trust. While embarrassing, she knew he would not look down on her for being so ignorant.

"Yes, please.,,"

Her reluctant agreement brought a smile to Kael's face, since her pouting expression could be considered adorable. His partner was quiet the interesting woman, and he foresaw many future moments of such…interest and amusement stemming from her. She had a tendency to act with bravado, only to then fall flat on her face when it came to doing things.

"Well, unlike the language we are speaking now, Thalassian is structured differently…"

It was all Kael could do to keep from imagining Trixie in her undergarments as he explained the basics of their language. He supposed such thoughts would fade with time as they continued to be together and he grew more used to her appearance, but Kael found his face red as he could not stop playing the night's images through his mind.

It was only a passing fancy. A natural reaction to seeing a beautiful woman in so little. There was _nothing_ more to it…

At least, that's what he _hoped_.

* * *

"And now you know your A, B, C's."

It took a few hours, but Trixie had managed to understand the very basics of Thalassian…or at least enough to read the first entry in her book. Still, Kael's ending remark to her learning made Trixie glare at him for his playfulness.

"Don't patronize me."

"What? You must admit that was a good quip."

An act of revenge was justified in Trixie's mind, so she opened her book and began to ready herself for a spell while pretending to continue the lesson, "This first line reads _Frie'zudo_, correct? Frost Nova you said in the language we are speaking currently?"

Kael nodded, glad that she could pronounce things correctly now, "Correct—"

"_Frie'zudo!_"

With that, a burst of ice came from Trixie's body that rapidly slammed into Kael and wrapped around his legs to freeze them and his feet where they were.

Pleased with the result of an annoyed Kael, Trixie smiled to herself as she hugged the book in her arms, "I must admit I am liking this Reicom fellow."

"Very funny," sarcastically replied as he created a flame in his hand to melt the ice, only to then realize his lower robes were damp as a result of this. He had to light up another flame to dry them so that he did not have to deal with damp and uncomfortable clothing for the rest of the day, and started to think of how to prank Trixie back.

Given that this pettiness was accomplishing them little in terms of their schoolwork and actually practicing magic, Trixie nodded over to where Erona was standing to bring her companion's attention there, "We should see how the Magistrix is doing. See if there are any tasks she wishes to see us do now that I have access to a book of spells."

With some reluctance Kael was brought over to the Magistrix, who had already seen his face and knew his name though had not seemed to consider that perhaps the two things together meant something. Kael was worried that maybe she would realize though in-between giving trainees missions to kill animals, so Trixie had to drag him over, the woman of their duo more confident that things would be fine.

Erona turned from dealing with a perky Priest woman to Trixie, who had announced their presence by clearing her throat, "Oh, you two. Normally I would give students a few more tasks, but I really think it would be best for you two to leave soon. So I'll just give you one more in order to graduate and leave."

That felt like a punch to the gut for Trixie, who felt like she was being run out of town, "What is the matter?"

"Your friend looks like a guy that has public opinion split on him. Those in Silvermoon are more supportive of him, while out here…" "Well, people are not fond of the man whose family this area was named after. I don't want to see people taking their anger out on you two, but I can't just let you go yet."

"Fine then. What is our assignment?"

The Magistrix pointed a finger towards the area beyond the fields that the Mana Wyrms had been driven from. In the distance Trixie could see a floating structure that held an architecture similar to the buildings nearby, except for how it was floating in mid air and was mostly open throughout its multiple levels.

"A betrayer of our people resides atop Falthrien Academy to the southwest. Felendren is his name, and he was banished from blood elf lands for failing to heed the warnings of our teachers and elders. He is the worst of our society, as he lives only to feed his insatiable magical addictions. He refused to learn control; he is a shell of his former self - one of the Wretched - and he is a threat to the Sunspire."

Trixie gulped as she realized all of a sudden what she was about to be told…

"Destroy him and the wraiths he uses as minions."

Disturbed animals were one thing…a disturbed _Elf_ though?

That was not exactly something she felt she was ready for.

* * *

**Author's Note: ****_Thanks for reading, and I hope that I can hear your thoughts in the review section below!  
_**


	5. Level 4-5: Slippery Slope and Black Ice

**_A/N: Hope to hear from people this time in the reviews! Enjoy!_**

* * *

Trixie and Kael had to pass by a series of living trees in order to get to the area where the Wretched target was. Kael was unnerved by the moving treants, which he heard a nearby Elf call "Tenders", and how their bark creaked as they shuffled along the ground with their feet-shaped roots. Trixie was not exactly a fan either, but she ignored them as they crossed the field to reach the spire where Felendren "the Banished" was holed up. The trees were not their objective, and they were not seemingly interested in picking a fight on their own.

A ramp that touched down at the edge of the field, where the grass was replaced by water, and granted entrance to the upper levels of the floating structure. The first platform it led to was only the size of a normal room, though it had no ceiling. On it though Trixie could see some floating creatures that appeared ethereal, and their pinkish bodies could easily be missed from afar with how they might blend with the sky.

These must be the wraiths in question. Trixie, in an attempt to not be belligerent, decided to not attack them with magic from afar. She would see first if they were in fact a threat before engaging in combat.

Trixie walked up the ramp to the platform, and the beings floating there gave no reaction to her approach. Kael put himself in-between them and Trixie, but they still did not seem to care that these two Elves were invading their place.

"Are they going to attack us?" Trixie whispered to Kael, who shrugged.

"It appears not…"

The man in charge then, this Felendren, must be a weak magic user if his summoned guards are not even capable of attacking intruders. The idea that they would be facing such a weak spellcaster made Trixie feel more comfortable, as she was expecting it to be an actual problem and a possibly difficult encounter.

In fact, it made her feel really good because Trixie was confident she could restrain and bring someone in with her new Frost Nova spell.

"Some guards. He can't even summon beings that will stop intruders!"

They left that platform by walking on another ramp, each of the Elves being careful where they stepped because of the long fall beneath them and the relative lack of structures to keep someone from falling. At the end of the ramp was a much larger structure, this one with two floors.

This second part revealed much bulkier floating beings, these ones green and with wrist bracers, but they were not hostile either and just floated around idly as if they were completely mindless. Like a jellyfish, only magical and not prone to making beach trips regrettable.

The two found it easy to just walk on past this next set of sentries to approach the final ramp, which they assumed would lead to their foe. He was supposedly here, and they had not seen another Elf yet.

Both Trixie and Kael crept up the final ramp slowly, being careful not to possibly alert him to their presence if he did not already know. Fortunately they were not met with any resistance on the way, with the Elf on the final floor of the oddly shaped structure not noticing them.

To get a better idea about the encounter before engaging in it, Trixie began to survey the platform. Unlike the last two which she left as quickly as possible, this one she might be forced to be on for quite some time if the fight was a long one.

Vases, some floating plant pots, random books strewn about…it appeared to have no real system or reason, and Trixie could see by the arrangement of it all that she was clearly dealing with someone who was mentally unhinged.

Felendren was sickly pale even for an Elf, and his weight appeared to be unhealthy by the standards of the thin Elves. In fact, Trixie considered herself quite skinny and this man appeared to be even slighter than her. His head was balding even if he did not appear all that elderly, and his auburn hair was gathered mostly in the back where its length gave him quite then odd appearance since it contrasted greatly with his reflective head. He only wore a simple red shirt, ugly gloves with a brown coloration, similar boots, and a matching brown loincloth.

If he had not been considered crazy already, Trixie would have decided it right then. So this was what a Wretched was…

Preparing her Frostfire spell, Trixie leapt out from the end of the ramp to the final platform and yelled at the Wretched Elf.

"Stop there you fiend! We are here to apprehend you, so you had best—"

As soon as she had reached the top of the ramp, Felendren turned to her and snarled madly. He charged at Trixie as she realized that if he hit her where she was standing she could fall and possibly tumble off the platform.

Trixie jumped onto the platform and away from his first strike, causing Felendren to swipe at thin air and nearly hit Kael instead. Kael, not pleased by the near hit, began to prepare his own spell when Trixie held a hand up for him to stop. She had just finished gathering herself after her sudden lunge to the side, and she still wanted to do this without bloodshed…if possible.

"As I was saying, you had best surrender—"

Felendren ignored Kael and charged at Trixie again, seeming to focus on the one who was talking and thus drawing his attention, "Take heart! Your friends will not long mourn your passing!"

Kael swore under his breath that he would mind, while Trixie ducked under another quick attack from the mad Elf. She had begun to charge her other spell to try and slow him down, but he was stopping her from reading from her book as he continued to try and hit her.

As Kael yanked Felendren back to prevent him from striking Trixie, he managed to do just that. His clawlike hand struck Trixie across the face, drawing blood as she finished reading from her book.

"Frie'zudo!"

The ground in front of her froze where she directed the spell, and to avoid slipping Kael let go of the man and dashed to the side. Felendren, meanwhile, did not seem to mind the ice now coating some of his floor and tried to desperately rush at Trixie again.

"I'm warning you Thele-whatever your name is—"

He took one last swipe at his foe, only to slip and slide right past Trixie as she moved to dodge it anyways. As he continued to slip and slide Trixie took a hand to her scratched cheek and muttered to herself, "Dear Luna, will you let me finish a damn sentence—"

His cries of terror as he slipped off the side of the platform and into the air made Trixie pause as she realized that she had just caused him to kill himself. Trixie moved over to the edge of the platform and looked down from a spot where no ice was, only to grimace at the sight she saw. His fall had been about a hundred feet and he hit the very edge of the plains with his face, leaving little of the essential body part left.

"It was an accident!" she cried out defensively as she blanched at the sight, quickly turning away and bringing a hand to cover her mouth to prevent any bile from rising.

Seeing that the accidental murder was getting to Trixie, Kael approached her and brought her into a hug to calm her down. Trixie accepted the hug and quickly buried her face in his shoulder and chest, her mind freaking out over what she just did.

"I didn't mean to…"

Kael was angry with himself that he didn't have any real ability to stop it from happening, since it was too fast for him to melt the ice as the man slipped and he had no way of slowing his fall. Still, the man had attacked them, and Trixie had tried her best to reason with him to no avail. He had a feeling this would take some time for her to get used to, that there were just some wicked people out there.

"Trixie, he attacked you, and there did not seem like a chance he would stop. Do not mourn such a man, for his soul was already gone from this world," Kael paused to stroke her back gently as she continued to sob, "We may go up against real threats, real foes who cannot be stopped without us fighting with the intent to kill them. Do you think you can handle that?"

"I…"

Removing herself from Kael, Trixie wiped her face of her tears and crossed her arms over her chest. She realized that she must have appeared weak and she decided that such a display in front of another person was not acceptable.

Trixie couldn't bring herself to look at him as she spoke, instead looking at the quickly thawing ice, "I reserve the right to take prisoners, but if they refuse to be reasoned with and will bring harm to others I see no other choice than defeating them in combat."

Even with her trying to act tough, Kael decided to still show his support. He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and smiled, not personally as broken up about the death of the man and much more glad that his friend was safe, "Don't worry. I can try to shoulder the burden of the killing as much as possible, but you cannot hesitate if the time comes. I would rather you live than anyone we fight."

Uncomfortable at the touch for a reason she could not explain, Trixie again moved away from him and towards the ramp they had come from, "Come, let's go back."

Upon approaching it, Trixie realized that the green wraiths from below were rapidly moving up it. Their quick pace felt threatening in how determined they moved, and Trixie realized that perhaps they were going to try and protect their master…even if it was too late.

Getting a new idea about how to leave, Trixie first chucked her book off the way their target fell and then approached another edge of the platform while speaking to Kael, "I think killing him made them angry."

Seeing the incoming Wraiths just about to reach the top of the ramp, Kael followed Trixie so that they could confront the threat together, "They should disappear without his power in a little bit. Defeating them without lifting a finger against them if we just last a moment longer."

"Water breaks someone's fall, right?"

The question made Kael's stomach flop. She wasn't thinking of jumping into the pool of water underneath this side of the platform, was she?

To make sure she wasn't going to do anything rash, Kael decided to clarify, "Yes, it does, but why do you ask?"

About eight of the ethereal beings had come atop the platform across from where Trixie and Kael stood, and they seemed preoccupied with finding their master because of how they did not instantly rush at the two Elves. Not willing to stick around and possibly fight them, Trixie saluted the glowing beings and laughed as she stepped towards the edge.

"Sorry wraiths and assorted energy people, but the Great and Powerful Trixie is about to do a disappearing act. Farewell!"

Trixie prepared to jump off and make her exit, only to trip over her robe and tumble off the edge similarly to the Wretched man's own fall. Kael was pleased that water was beneath them, but if she didn't land right she could still get severely hurt.

"How graceful…"

With a sigh, Kael shook his head and prepared to jump as well.

Oh the things he did for the sake of friendship…at least his bag was waterproof.

* * *

When Kael struck the water, he expected to find Trixie on her way out of the semi-shallow water. The area the landed in was only as deep as one might find in a pool, becoming quite shallow quickly as land was quite close nearby and becoming much deeper in the opposite direction.

Apparently this was why it was called Sunstrider Isle.

Before Kael could really observe Trixie's status, he fought to keep himself afloat in his robes as they absorbed far too much water.

"Are you okay?" he called out as he finally managed to start treading water, his head just barely above it all.

"I can't swim!" Trixie cried out as she began to flail around him and thrash her limbs in the water, her body forcing her head above the liquid as she tried to not drown.

With the realization that they were only a couple feet from safety, Kael stopped using one arm to tread and instead used it to grab the back of Trixie's robe, "I got you."

With her in his grasp, Kael put his well toned muscles to use and dragged both of them over to the shore, where Trixie quickly crawled away from the waves. She coughed up some of the water as Kael started straightening himself out, not as tired or bothered by the affair as she was.

"I didn't think you would be the type who can't swim," he commented while looking down at Trixie, who was taking in deep breaths to help her oxygen starved lungs.

"I thought I could…" Trixie coughed again, and her voice sounded both parts weak and sad as she tried to talk with some difficulty, "For some reason when I tried though I just started flailing. I think something is wrong with me…"

The dejection in her statement made Kael pity her, but he could not honestly say that he had not noticed something was off with her. After all, she was quite the oddity, and Kael would readily believe that she wasn't from around here at all. She even sat like an animal might at the table, so perhaps she came from the more savage Kalimdor?

Whatever the case, he decided to not speak so as to let the matter drop entirely. That way she could feel better about herself soon, and not seem like she was either crying or just having water drip from her face.

Once calmed down, Trixie looked over at Kael. Unlike him, she was perfectly fine pointing out things she found odd about him, albeit without real malignance in her statement.

"Your clothes are soaked."

Kael shrugged, having realized from the moment they were going to jump away from their foes that this would be the result, "As are yours, and you don't see me complaining."

Trixie looked down at her completely soaked robe and laughed, "You're right."

Not quite in the right state of mind, and also not remembering what little she knew about Elven modesty, Trixie quickly began to set about removing the soaked clothing she had on. Kael spat out a bit of water still in his mouth at the sight of Trixie once again only in her underwear as she removed the robe completely, this only not escalating further because the supposed prince's quick addressing of the issue.

"W-what are you doing?"

Trixie turned back to face him, her eyebrow raised as she looked at him with her own curiosity. Why did he care if she was removing unnecessary clothing? She wasn't feeling all that cold with how warm it was out, and she didn't particularly feel as if clothes were the natural state of things, "Undressing. My clothes need to dry. Why do you care?"

Kael blushed as he turned away, since Trixie began to continue despite his protest, "Clothes are meant to preserve modesty."

That brought a laugh out from Trixie, who had just removed the dripping wet cloth that had bound her chest, "I have no modesty, haven't you learned?" she laughed as Kael groaned at her lack of comprehension, "And how would keeping my clothes on make me humble anyways?"

Being too polite to look at her without anything up top, Kael turned around completely and sighed, "I think you may have really hit your head before you woke up. People will give you weird looks if you do not at least wear a little more."

"But I'm soaking wet and that's uncomfortable…" Trixie whined as she realized he probably had a point. Everyone else was wearing clothes after all, even if some Elves were wearing semi-revealing ones.

"We need new clothes anyways, remember?" Kael reminded Trixie, hoping to settle the issue with bringing up her own point from the night before.

Trixie began to place her clothes back on begrudgingly, her voice displaying her displeasure over the effort of putting back on the drenched robes, "No, you needed new clothes."

Kael turned to check on Trixie, who he doubted would announce having her clothes back on, and was pleased to see she was almost done, "Just keep your clothes on for my sake."

"Fine, but only because I don't want others to laugh at me."

* * *

Magistrix Erona was blankly looking at the pair of drenched Elves as they recounted their recent events, ending with Trixie stating:

"So, he kind of fell off the edge of the spire, and his head wasn't really in a position to be brought back…"

Erona was just dumbfounded that these two managed to actually get the job done, especially since they skipped a few steps of training, but she wasn't going to complain about a nuisance being removed from the land. She held out a letter to the two along with a pouch of coins, a smile upon her face to display her approval despite her exasperation at their mentioned incompetence. Trixie had attempted to embellish the tale only for Kael to point out she tripped off the edge when trying to make a flashy exit, only to then almost drown.

"Good work nonetheless. I will give you extra coins to make up for the time you are no longer going to be here, and here is a missive from me to grant you permission into Silvermoon City."

Trixie took the sealed letter, only to then hand it to Kael because he had the bag. It was enough for her to carry around a large book, which she had recovered from where it "fell" (quite perfectly, she might add, with no noticeable damage).

"We need a permission letter just to get in?"

A small nod came from Erona, who did not seem happy to think about the subject, "Regent Lord Lor'themar Theron has placed harsh restrictions on activities related to our capital city. Everything is to be controlled and sanctioned there, and by that I mean quite literally everything, including the people and their actions."

Since Kael was still trying to lay low, Trixie continued to do the speaking as he made sure his scarf covered as much of his face as he could manage, "Well, thank you for your aid. Until we meet again."

Erona gave them each a nod goodbye, and with that they began to head to the path that lead towards the inn they slept at. A map provided by the innkeeper showed that Silvermoon was located quite close by to it, and there was little else to do in the Isle for the two since Erona was basically telling them to get out before too many others got suspicious of them.

Once they were far enough away to not be heard, Trixie poked Kael on the shoulder, "Shall we stop by this capital city of ours next, or do something else? I bet they have a magnificent inn we can stay at there!"

Content to follow Trixie in whatever she wanted to do, Kael decided to let her choose despite their status as equal partners in decision making, "I have no direction currently. Perhaps Silvermoon will serve as a good place to gather information that we can then use to decide our next course of action."

"Silvermoon it is, then! Maybe they have a bakery?"

* * *

Trixie managed to bribe the wagon drivers to bring them to the area right in front of Silvermoon, though the drivers explained they didn't really care to go to the actual city. Trixie let them go after slipping them a couple silver coins, which she had an abundance of after the large pouch of silver and copper Erona gave her.

The city was beautiful even from the outside, as the tall outer walls were decorated with the same intricate patterns located on the building Trixie woke up beside the day prior. Red, gold, floating plants…the outer walls had the same kind of feel that Trixie was beginning to grow fond of, especially with the nearby lush trees.

Kael gulped at the sight of the front, which was not even a gate but an open passage that seemed to open up like a T shape into the tall wall. In the middle, however, was what made him nervous: a statue easily a hundred feet tall that was of a man who looked strikingly like himself.

Trixie nudged him and smiled up at it, seeing it not as a negative thing but rather as a sign that he really was a prince, which was awesome in her eyes.

At the front gates, however, a less jovial couple was standing. Two armed guards with soft red and golden armor, weapons, and shields stood vigil and were there to prevent entry. Trixie found it interesting that the city would have such a poor method of preventing others from coming in, but she supposed they weren't facing as many invasions these days.

Trixie was forced to partially drag Kael towards the guards, since he was worried they would recognize him with a stunning model of him right behind them. Trixie decided that they could just come up with some lie if they questioned it, and at worst reveal his identity since the rumors were seemingly only rumors thus far. They couldn't just arrest them over nothing, right?

"Halt," came the voice of each guard as the two Blood Elves approached. Having expected this, Trixie took the letter out of her book and stopped using it as a book mark.

One guard turned to Kael and held out a hand, "Your papers?"

Annoyed that they asked Kael for the papers and not her, Trixie shoved it into the man's hands and smiled cheekily. The guard opened the envelope and quickly read it over, and after a moment he nodded to the two in approval.

In this time the other guard took interest in Kael's scarf, even poking it with one edge of his blade gently in an attempt to pull it off, "What are you hiding under that mask, traveler?"

Trixie pushed Kael back a step to prevent the blade from actually removing the scarf, and she confidently began to lie to them, "His lower face is misshapen from a bad run-in with the local wildlife. His pride keeps him from embarrassing himself from showing it to others."

The one with the letter nodded as he continued to look over the document, "Your names?"

"Trixie Lulamoon, and this is my brother," Trixie tried coming up with a random name that sounded Elvish, "Kelt'hazaid Lulamoon."

Kael groaned at her poor choice, thinking it a silly name, but he did not want to speak and possibly be found out as a possible traitor prince.

The guards look to one another briefly before shrugging and handing back the letter, "How unfortunate to share a name with the man whose revival corrupted the Sunwell."

Trixie chuckled, surprised that she had managed to guess an existing name, "Yes, quite."

Kael nervously looked up at the statue, still worried he would be found out, but to his surprise the guards moved out of the way, "Very well, you may enter. Keep those documents with you if you wish to gain entry or leave."

Trixie once again grabbed her companion and began to drag him, wanting to get away from the guards as soon as possible, "Thank you!"

Once they ducked inside, the hallway reversed itself and they managed to exit on the opposite side of the structure. When she was sure she was out of earshot, Trixie whispered to Kael.

"Wow, these guys are really serious…"

While the lack of real gate security was appalling, Kael could understand why the guards might be stern, "Seeing as how our race is in such dire straits, I can understand why, to some degree."

Still, Trixie felt a little put off by how they had to be given permission to come in, and the guards weren't just relaxed about it. Were things really that bad?

"I guess…"

Trixie's words trailed off as she started to look around. Tan buildings with golden and red highlights surrounded them, and Trixie found herself amazed by the sheer size of it all. The city seemed to sprawl quite a ways beyond the gate, greatly outstripping the Farstrider Square in terms of size, and the magnificent shapes and architecture impressed them both.

Kael moved beside Trixie so she would stop dragging him, though even with this done she kept her hand on his bicep. He did not complain, not really caring about it, but he made an effort to keep in step with her as they began to walk. The entrance opened up into a U shaped path. They went along the left side of it, going past what appeared to be an inn and some shops as they just began to experience it all.

On the path, moving the opposite way, was a golem of sorts. Its body had the same kind of design of the buildings, only shaped like a humanoid, and it moved about as if it was a living being. Trixie found herself curious how it worked, but she expected the answer was magic, as how else could such a large contraption work? It was quite large, standing at about one and a half times Kael's height, and Trixie wondered also what it was for? Was it some robot made to assist people?

**"Happiness is mandatory, citizen," **the mechanical being proclaimed as it patrolled down the corridor, amusing Trixie with its seeming joyful attitude. It wanted them to be happy, which was a nice feature for a serving robot.

As they reached the end of the path, Trixie and Kael realized that they needed to take a left to continue as the other path ended. To their left it continued instead into a large square, with what appeared to be merchants and people of all sorts like some kind of bazaar. Trixie rushed into it with the hopes of finding a bread merchant, only to find something else catching her attention.

As Kael caught up to her, Trixie tugged on his sleeve and pointed to a large gathering of Elves in one corner of the bazaar, "Hey, look at all those people. Maybe they know something that can help us?"

Kael would have spoke, but a voice yelling out to the crowd cut him off.

"My brothers and sisters. Listen to me. We must speak of the survival of our people. We have narrowly survived one calamity, but I fear the next shall destroy us!"

The voice was coming from an auburn haired woman with a sleeveless shirt similar to her hair color standing on the far side of the crowd. Beside her stood a man in green cloth robes with a wise appearance, appearing quite calm in contrast to the rowdy appearance of the crowd before the two of them.

The woman continued to address those gathered with concern in her voice, "Can you not see what is happening? Open your eyes. It is laid bare for all to see. What is this new alliance? Why have we betrayed our allies of old, only to take up with the enemies of all that live?"

One of the members of the crowd shouted back with fervor, "No, you're wrong! We were the ones betrayed!"

Their comment was followed up by another from the crowd, "When have the Dwarves ever been our friends?"

Kael and Trixie looked to one another, but neither made any move to approach the group. What was this argument about?

"The Humans abandoned us in our darkest hour! Their prince himself led the assault on our lands," came another disgruntled voice from those gathered.

The man in green shook his head at the comments he was hearing from those he was speaking to, "You fool! The prince's minions were the very Forsaken we have now allied ourselves with, and now he has betrayed us."

"The Ranger-General of Silvermoon will be a loyal ally!"

"You speak of her as friend? You are a fool. This "Dark Lady" is not Sylvanas," the woman in front retorted.

Ranger General, Dark Lady…Sylvanas…these things sounded familiar to Kael, and made him look back to the ring he had found in his belonging previously.

"Blood will be true. We can trust in none but our own."

The woman scoffed, "Blood? And these Orcs, these fair weather friends? They will aid us?"

The man beside her continued with a dramatic voice, "A great blight lies across our land! It grows every day. Our need for magic weakens us, and will bring us to destruction, just as it has before!"

Trixie frowned as she remembered that she needed to feed on magic…luckily she had not felt that bad that day, but she was curious how Kael was holding up.

The crowd seemed astonished to hear his proclamation, "How are we to live without magic?"

"Look at the wonders of this city! This is magic!" another cried.

"But at what cost? You've all been blinded. We have all been blinded," came the man's response, his voice weary.

The crowd seemed to not be pleased by what had been said previously, "You call us traitors?"

"The magisters are traitors! They have sealed our doom," the woman explained, her voice desperate. The crowd did not seem to be buying their arguments.

"Idealistic blather. Go back to your forests!"

"You would have us like savages!"

Their response seemed to be worrying those up front, who had not seemingly expected to face such opposition, "No, not savagery! Conscience. The excesses of our people will destroy us, and all that we have struggled to build."

Unknown to both Trixie and Kael, a figure in the crowd began to look over at them with interest.

"We have not struggled so hard to survive, only to bring about the true destruction," the man's partner added, her voice still strong unlike his more weary one.

With a bit of effort the green clothed man rose his voice again and regained some vigor, "We stand on the brink of destruction. We must reconsider this rash course of action."

Kael noticed three Elves in the crowd summon through magic another person, this one being a man with crimson robes with a black flair to them. This action seemed to frighten the people leading the public forum of sorts, as they began to speak up much more quickly.

"If we speak as one we cannot be ignored!" the woman shouted, trying to rally the citizens.

The man tried next in rapid succession, "Lend us your voices! Now is the time we must act to save our people."

The man who had been summoned began to cast a spell, though Kael could not tell what kind.

Just before the newcomer could finish the spell, the man in green robes blurted out desperately, "Lor'themar must hear us! We will not be silenced!"

The spell completed, and the two rabble-rousers fell silent as their eyes went blank.

The man who had been summoned turned to face those who summoned him and spoke in a sickeningly smug voice, "That should take care of that. Summon me if you have further need of my services."

Trixie unconsciously began to grip the arm of her companion, who in turn took her hand in his own to comfort her. They did not know what just happened, but whatever spell had been cast it could not have been good. Was this just everyday life in Silvermoon? The crowd did not seem at all put off by it.

The crimson robed man departed, and once he was out of the crowd the woman returned to speaking.

In an unnatural, forced voice she addressed everyone again, _"We will pay back the Alliance for their betrayal a thousandfold. We will never forgive and never forget."_

Beside her, the man gestured to the area around everyone, _"Lor'themar has remade Silvermoon into something we may truly be proud of."_

It was then that Kael and Trixie both realized that the man who had been summoned just brainwashed these two with mind control.

"Kael…I don't want to be here anymore."

Agreeing fully but also not wanting to be seen as a dissenting figure, Kael quietly stepped away from it all while guiding Trixie with an arm to do the same.

On the way back to the entrance, Trixie noticed a cringing woman with black hair crumpled on the ground by a shop. Trixie instantly rushed to their side and knelt down beside them, worried that perhaps they were hurt.

"Are you okay?"

The woman on the ground looked around nervously before pushing Trixie away, the frightened lady's gaze upon an approaching golem, "Please, just leave me. I don't want to get in any more trouble…"

Trixie furrowed her brow, but the sight of the approaching automaton made her realize something terrible: the golems weren't just there to help…they were there as menacing sentries to keep everyone in line.

Trixie scurried back to Kael just as the golem began to approach the woman, its automated voice chirping, **"Obey the laws of Silvermoon. Failure to do so will result in termination. Do not resist arrest further. Dissent is prohibited."**

Both of them turned away from whatever was about to happen, not wanting to think about whatever brutality the hulking robot might inflict upon the woman after its threat.

**"Remain strong. Kael'thas will lead you to power and glory!" **came the voice of another sentry on the way out, this one looming by the entrance.

Kael had seen enough of the Elven capital for a lifetime. Taking Trixie's arm, he continued to lead her away in a more forceful manner.

"Let's return to the inn."

* * *

Once safely outside the city, past the guards, and Farstrider Inn, Trixie threw herself on top of their shared bed and let herself sink into its soft frame. She could not believe that the capital of their race was a fascist state that was seemingly repressing and mind controlling its inhabitants.

"Okay, that place…"

Kael sat down beside her, his shoulders hanging as he thought back to their experience there and how disappointing it was, "I was expecting it to be a beautiful place…" he sighed and shook his head, "Physically it is, but beyond its appearance it is a blight upon this world."

Trixie's eyes lit up as something came to her. Like a spark had been lit in her, she jumped up onto her feet and clenched her fists. Kael looked up at her as she turned around and she threw a hand back towards the doorway, "We've been wondering what to do, right? Well I think I know what your goal should be now. While I wish to become a powerful mage and become famous, you have your own epic story to embark on."

Kael was curious where she was going with this, so he simply nodded to let her say what she had come up with. He was fine with being given a quest by her that he could make his own personal one.

Trixie pointed a finger at Kael before retracting it to clench the fist and bring it in to her chest, "You're the noble prince that will one day rise up and take his land back from the evil chancellor who has usurped the throne, saving your people and freeing them from tyranny!"

Was this some game to her? Kael found himself laughing at the thought of the two of them overthrowing that tyranny, "You think that this is some fairy tale?"

His reaction deflated Trixie partially, though she remained spirited, "I am merely observing the roles of the story you are bound to go on."

"Okay, and what part do you play in this fable?"

That brought back Trixie's full emotion, her face smug and containing the haughtiness Kael was beginning to enjoy seeing if only to watch her inevitably trip herself up with it, "I am the skillful anti-hero who is instrumental to the rise of the noble hero, and gets to share in all the fame and fortune when the story ends."

Kael's definition of anti-hero differed from hers, though he simply thought she was misusing the term, "You don't seem dark and edgy."

Trixie shook her head, annoyed that she was being corrected when she wasn't actually wrong, "No no no, classical anti-hero, not current anti-hero. Skillful instead of brutish, able to use wit to accomplish things the classical hero cannot and forming synergy with such a character by complementing eachother's traits."

"I would almost agree with you if I was not also intelligent, but I will cede the point that I am stronger than you, at least currently."

"You have a half day of extra practice," Trixie whined, trying to justify the fact that she was still behind him in magic practice.

"And actually understand the language we're learning from," Kael added jokingly, though it was true.

"Quiet, Kael."

Still, the idea of playing the hero to an epic story…

Kael tilted his head back and smiled at the ceiling. His prideful friend would expect no less of him, would she? Saving a whole kingdom…

While perhaps barely trained and amnesiac, Kael started to like the idea the more and more he thought about it. With how low the Blood Elf population was, their military ought to be in pretty poor shape. With how they had to spread that small group amongst presumably a whole kingdom, that made it pretty spread thin. With a formidable force of competent soldiers and allies, Kael could perhaps pull off the retaking of his kingdom…

That required allies though, and at the moment it was just the two of them. In reality they could use some muscle on their journey like any good heroic group, and Kael was afraid he was not quite the epitome of physical might.

"If you want to turn this into a true heroic story, we are going to have to find someone to act as our muscle, someone to play the part of the brain, and someone who is able to keep the group together with some kind of charm."

Trixie waved a hand dismissively, since she was quite happy with how things were between them and did not like the idea of possible adding another to interrupt their dynamic, "I'm sure we'll find someone when the time comes. For now though I think we are fine just with the two of us."

While entertaining the idea and finding himself enjoying the thought of being a savior of a whole species, Kael still had some reservations on the whole notion, "Still, I'm not quite sure about this whole endeavor…what if I am not the prince?"

While he might not be convinced he was really Kael'Thas Sunstrider, Trixie was more than convinced after seeing the giant statue. It was too great a coincidence to not be true, "Oh please, you look just like him, and you have his name. That man elsewhere in that Outlands place must be a fake, created by some evil entity to besmirch your name."

She had a point…and so Kael decided to give in. If he could do some good, why not? It was not as if he had anything else to do, and if he was the true prince it was his duty to do this, right?

"I suppose that if I truly am Kael'Thas Sunstrider that it is my duty to free my people from his evil sway, as well as take back my position here and dethrone this…Lycanthrope Themer everyone is talking about."

Trixie frowned at the butchered name, but she could do no better as she tried to remember it, "Lorphope Teamer?"

The fact that neither of them could get it right made Kael laugh, since it wasn't right for the heroes of a story to not know the name of their arch-nemesis, "I suppose we should find out the villain's name before we set on our little quest."

Their little talk of treason was interrupted by the sound of someone clearing their throat at their doorway, making each of them turn their attention to where the innkeeper was standing.

"Excuse me, but there is a man here to see you."

Trixie instantly deflated in ego, worrying suddenly that the police were coming for them and their plan to overthrow the government one day, but Kael smiled as he stood up. He could see a man standing behind the innkeeper, and he did not want to be rude and be sitting when they came in.

"Please, come in."

The man stepped forward as the innkeeper excused herself, and once he was through the veil that acted as a "door" to the room, the two inhabitants of it found themselves astonished. He was wearing a suit of uniform black armor, signifying that he was a part of some military group, but that was not what drew their attention.

"Thank you…" the man responded as he finished entering, his eyes locking with those of Kael'thas.

One of the visitor's eyes was glowing an eerie blue, and the other shining pitch black.

The tall, apparent soldier smiled as he finished speaking, "Lord Kael'Thas Sunstrider."

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**_Thanks for reading, and I hope that I can hear your thoughts in the reviews below!_**


	6. Level 6: The Two Pillars of Silvermoon

**_A/N: Special thanks to futureshock for you review last chapter, and I hope to continue hearing from you as well as others who are reading as well! _**

**_Please leave your thoughts in the reviews below, and I hope you enjoy!_**

* * *

Kael was instantly taken aback by being addressed by his actual name. Despite being in Silvermoon City for only minutes, someone had seen through his disguise. Its lack of intricacy could be criticized, but the ones at Sunstrider Isle's main area were all seemingly content with the thought that he was a lookalike. After all, his rags and limited magical ability separated him greatly from the man who ought to be their King but kept the title of Prince.

As Kael fought his initial urge to take a step back in surprise, Trixie found herself intrigued by this as well. This man, unlike the guards, was not likely going to buy some lame excuse that he was Kel'Thuzad Lulamoon or whatever the fake name she came up with was. With this in mind, Trixie approached the two and stood directly to Kael's side, waiting and seeing where he would lead the conversation.

Still surprised, due in part to him being heavily frightened as a result of the dangerous local government and his dishonorable reputation, Kael tried a weak attempt at dismissing the man's claim, "I am not quite sure you have the right man…"

The man appeared to be perfectly fine with Kael's denial, though his long face betrayed little of his actual feelings as it did not appear the most expressive. What little was revealed though was a small hint of a smile, with his differently glowing eyes hiding anything his eyes may have otherwise revealed, "Unlike you, I am quite sure."

To both Trixie and Kael's surprise, the mysterious visitor's next action was to bend down to one knee and begin kneeling in front of the man whom he claimed to be Kael'thas Sunstrider.

The man continued to speak once his head bowed as well, his blue eye illuminating the floor beneath him to some degree, "Forgive my forwardness, my lord, but nothing you say can convince me that you are not the prince I served under after the fall of the Sunwell."

Uncomfortable partially with the fact that someone was showing royal respect to him and also not wanting to make the man act as some subservient being, Kael gestured over to the table the inn room offered.

"Come, sit."

The man obliged gracefully, not rushing to his feet as he accepted the offer. Trixie took a seat at the table too, grumbling about not being paid any attention by their visitor, while both Kael and the man took seats opposite one another. Trixie moved her own to be beside her partner, whose face appeared curious to find out what this stranger had to offer and what his purpose was in being there.

Once sitting, Trixie and Kael each began to look their visitor over more. He appeared to have a broader but not massive build unlike any of the Elves they had come across so far, with shoulders quite wide. His body was not otherwise burly, with a chest only marginally larger than Kael's own slim frame, and his arms and legs did not appear giant beneath his midnight black armor.

After a moment of silence between all three, the stranger introduced himself with a gesture to his body, "I am Captain Reuenthal of the Farstriders, and I come here seeking your aid."

Kael and Trixie looked to one another and each gave a look of worry. What could someone in the military possibly need of them that he could not have his forces do?

To help explain himself, the Captain decided to explain some of his mindset, "I do not know why specifically you are 'laying low', but I can understand the need for doing so with the baseless rumors spreading around this region. I apologize if any of this may interfere with your reason for being here, and your reason for keeping a low profile."

With Trixie granting him nonverbal permission, Kael prodded further since he did not know what was actually being asked of them, "What is it that is troubling you? I cannot promise that I will help, but I can hear you out and see what I could do for you," Kael's green eyes looked directly into the mismatched pair of Reuenthal's, the sight of which had made Kael curious about why this man had a unique coloration much like Trixie. Perhaps there was a connection, perhaps not, but the irregular coloration was interesting to take note of, "First though, may I ask a question of you?"

The slight smile widened by a mere smidge at the question about asking a question, "My eyes, I assume. They are quite disconcerting for those unused to my presence," Reuenthal brought a hand to cover his darker eye almost without thought, "I suffer from a rare condition that results in humans known as heterochromia. This condition caused by my human blood has bled through to my Elven features, and so my eyes are not what one might consider natural."

Still feeling ignored, Trixie spoke up in a similar pursuit of knowledge stemming from her experience looking at herself in the mirror, "My eyes are purple. Is that normal?"

Reuenthal closed his eyes and shook his head, the small expression of amusement leaving and being replaced by a blank countenance, "No, but two matching eyes that glow purple are better than a dark grey and a blue set that result from a human flaw. I have heard of another who has purple eyes, though I must admit it is by no means common."

His response left a new silence, for a new question arose from his statement about human blood. He implied that he was at least part human, and given his larger appearance compared to other Blood Elves it was quite believable that he was not a pure Elf. Even so, with the current strained relationship between Humans and Elves there was quite the question hanging now about where he stood in this issue.

If he had Human blood running through him, it could explain his own seeming lack of unity with the Silvermoon government which surely would have wanted him to haul Kael in either to act as a figure or as a prisoner if the city's ruler was as ruthless as he seemed.

Sensing what Trixie and Kael both must be thinking, Reuenthal gained his small smile again, the look contradicting the great gravity that came from his words, "But yes, I am a Half-Elf. Born of adultery on my mother's behalf. When I was born she attempted to carve out my dark eye, to hide her infidelity, but in the end she turned the knife on herself."

His words left a deep pit in Trixie's stomach, and in fact made her feel as if she was going to throw up. The idea of a mother harming a child resonated with her, but in the manner that it felt familiar and uncomfortable both.

Reuenthal's face tilted down partially to look at the table, its surface bare beside the candles similar to how his face was near expressionless outside of his masochistic smile, "Racial discrimination has left me with few friends, and I only have one whom I trust completely," this said, the man looked up to lock eyes with Kael'thas with a renewed intensity, "He is a Captain like myself, and he is being wrongfully held by authorities outside of Silvermoon City at a nearby outpost."

So that was what he came to speak about, the two mages then recognized. He had come to seemingly oppose the government…though his willingness to ask the supposed Prince of the land for help rose further questions. Did he believe Kael could pardon the man, or did he expect Kael to help free the man through more brutish means?

On the same wavelength as her partner, none of those questions mattered if the man imprisoned deserved it however, so Trixie inquired about the reason for this imprisonment, "What are the crimes he is charged with?"

"Public disorder and dissent. Because of his higher than average stature in our society as a Captain, they cannot try and deal with him in public like they do some others."

Reuenthal paused to narrow his eyes and lose the smile, his already serious demeanor heightening as he recounted the events that led to his friend's arrest.

"In truth, he was arrested for a struggle between him and some members of the advisory council that began when the council members dared to spread the rumor of your majesty's alleged wrong doing, as well as insult you personally and claim you to be a traitor to our people. Now he stands to be executed at an unknown time, in a quiet manner that will not be made public. The cowards who accuse him will have records show that he fell in battle to the Scourge, or at least they will if they have any sense of self-preservation. Even striking a superior officer would be let go in the instance of defending your majesty's honor, so they know their actions are illicit and unacceptable, but their pride disallows them from acting otherwise."

The disgust the man held towards the government officials came forth even despite his even tone. His speech was stiff and his eyes gave the feeling of someone who was stressed out with how they narrowed at the mere mention of these people.

That he was being so candid with his feelings gave Kael the impression that this was a man who most definitely was not among the crowd who supported the propaganda and manipulation evident in the city, where someone who held such views publicly would be forcibly converted. That he was revealing them to someone he saw as separate and possibly opposed was also telling, as Kael could turn him in for his thoughts and seeming plan to release his friend.

A friend…Kael did not think he could handle losing Trixie, who was his only friend and his only companion. Reuenthal spoke to the fact he had seemingly no-one else other than the imprisoned man, and so the fact that he was taken and was in trouble was undoubtedly driving this otherwise calm and rational man to risky behavior.

On these thoughts and merits alone Kael was personally decided on the issue. He would help if he could, though he was not yet sure if he could. He would consult with Trixie later on the issue, but he personally wanted to help release this man if at all possible.

"Captain Reuenthal, I take you for someone who would prefer honesty over deceit. May I speak candidly with you?"

"Of course, your Majesty."

Trixie shot a nervous look, though she did not speak. Was he going to possibly reveal their vulnerable status as amnesiac, beginner Mages? Would Reuenthal care about their current status? Would it drive him away?

Kael touched his partner's arm in an attempt to calm her, despite going along the path she feared, "I am suffering from amnesia currently. Despite this, I cannot deny who it seems I am. How I wound up in this place, I do not know, but it sounds as if there is someone who is taking my name in the region known as Outland and disgracing it."

Reuenthal revealed no emotional response to this, though he did nod, "I had figured that something was keeping you from just walking up to Lord Regent Lor'themar Theron and taking your place as rightful ruler."

The man smiled briefly before shaking his head and looking back to Kael and Trixie.

"Do not worry. I can and will keep your secret. If you help me free my friend, I will forever be indebted to you, as will he."

Eternal loyalty could be quite useful, so Kael thought of it as quite just compensation for breaking laws, "I have another question."

Earlier, Trixie had said she didn't want to be in Silvermoon anymore. They had been excited when they first arrived, but afterwards…

It was dystopian, even if it was polished on top. Everything had the illusion of being great, even though things were bad. If so many issues cropped up at the first glance of the city, what other dark secrets was it hiding? Just what atrocities are those in charge of it doing?

Kael narrowed his own eyes as he gave a qualifying test to the man before him, testing to see whether or not this was someone he could use against the administration at a later time when it was convenient to do so, "What do you think of the current state of affairs in Silvermoon?"

The man's response took a moment, as if he was carefully mulling over his words before he finally spoke up, "Silvermoon City is a place of unmatched arcane progress and the height of what we would call civilization in terms of structure, design, and potential."

He let out a small, amused snort as he finished, indicating that he found something funny about what he said even if his face remained stoic. As such Kael decided to let the man continue, as he obviously had more to say.

Reuenthal gestured to the doorway, which was in the same direction as Silvermoon City, "This greatness is marred by the decadence of our court. Noble rank is abused by those who have it, and those who do not are tread upon like dirt. The officials take every action they commit as a necessary one for the survival of our people even if said actions are horribly misguided. While some control is to be expected by any government, especially in times of strife, it is inexcusable how the populace is not even allowed to think for itself at this point. Lastly, the hedonism we are prone to is causing us to waste time and resources on useless expenditures when we still are in dire need for supplies and materials on the frontlines."

Egotistical and wanting to remain relevant, Trixie spoke up again even though this conversation was mainly between Kael and the man who had sought him out for aid, "And what do you think of the manner in which some are baselessly criticizing your prince?"

"If I am to be honest, I would be imprisoned as well had the situation not been ended so swiftly. I was just about to enter the fight when Mitter'meyer, my friend, was subdued," Reuenthal explained, his voice almost bored in how routine this occurrence sounded for him to report. Had he possibly fought for the honor of his prince in the past along with his friend?

That answer pleased Trixie though, who was not happy with how everyone seemed to believe her companion to be some monster. Or at least look like the person they believed to be a monster, who in fact she believed he really was.

"Well Kael?"

Kael nodded to Trixie and then turned to face Reuenthal with a smile, fully willing to partake in this endeavor even if there were possible repercussions. The idea of a jailbreak sounded fun, in addition to just in this instance, "I would like to hear more about your plan for releasing him, but I have no objection to the action itself. After seeing what the officials are capable of in the city, I have no love for them and would like to reverse some of their justice. My only worry is that my companion and I will be unable to lend great strength to the cause."

Reuenthal shook his head no before offering a more genuine smile, although for the stoic man this amounted to the small turning up of the lips, "Strength is not necessary in this occasion. I have researched the location he is being held, and it is actually guarded by very few. Among those guards there is only one senior officer, and in total there are only three men there besides the prisoner."

"Why is the security force so lax?" Trixie balked, having previously worried that perhaps this would be difficult. With a one-to-one ratio though she was fully confident they could pull their weight, especially since they had someone who was reportedly a Captain with them.

"Basic logistics. Forces cannot be wasted looking after a prisoner whose honor is well known in the area when they can be used to combat the undead Scourge that plagues the land. Mitter'meyer's sense of honor and duty brought him to blows with those officials, but it is also what is keeping him from freeing himself," Reuenthal noted, his smile fading.

Trixie grinned smugly, amused by his seeming disapproval for his friend's scrupulousness, "I take it you are not so honor bound then?"

Reuenthal turned to her and engaged eye contact for the first time, "Honor is a useful tool for some to manipulate others with, but I must admit I have my own moral code not unlike Mitter'meyer. If I was accused of a crime I had committed I would not hide from the accusation. If, like in this instance, the accusation had some flaw, or was false, I would combat it to my dying breath. It would ruin my pride to do otherwise."

Kael nodded, actually agreeing with the viewpoint given. The idea of being accused of something wrongfully did not sit right with the man, even if he was otherwise gentle and flippant, "Three guards, which means there is one for each of us. How will your friend be safe after he is freed though? I find it hard to believe that he will be safe after escaping from imprisonment."

The Captain brought his hand down to a small bag hanging at his side off a belt and began to rummage through it with his unarmored hand, "I have made arrangements to publicize anonymously their treatment of a valued Captain. While they brainwash some, they cannot maintain a hold on every citizen's mental activity, especially not all at once. They know that if they would further pursue this issue that they would bring undue criticism to themselves as rumors permeated throughout the land. Rank and status is paramount to our culture, so they will not blemish themselves further."

Ironically, the thing that caused this whole debacle also would aid in the solution, which brought a smile to Trixie's face, "In this instance it seems that rumors are a positive thing."

"It all depends on how they are used," came the cool response of Reuenthal, who again turned his attention to Kael. While not being rude in any spoken manner, he seemed to not give Trixie the same respect as the man he called his prince. The reason for this was not known to either Trixie or Kael, but they could ignore the seeming coldness in favor of his other traits. Even the prideful Trixie did not want to call him out on his behavior, since she was beginning to get the feeling he didn't like women very much after what his mother did. Perhaps at a later time she could ask him about it, but in their first meeting she did not want to impose.

Finally having found what he was looking for in his pocket, Reuenthal removed a vial with clear liquid in it to display to his cohorts, "To prevent repercussions on either of your behalves, I have also procured a potion to apply to the soldiers we dispatch. It will relieve them of their memories from the day, and make the culprits of this crime unknown."

"Is there anyone else who is willing to assist us?" Kael asked, all the while reaching for Trixie's hand to squeeze. This was a serious matter, and he had a feeling that the boastful woman was feeling nervous. Kael could not recall if it was called an inferiority superiority complex or superiority inferiority complex, but she seemed to act tough and grand to hide her inner state of being, and he wanted to comfort her nerves however he could.

In response to the question Reuenthal hung his head gently and shook it slowly, seeming sorrowful over his given response, "Given our current political climate, I have not had the luxury of testing those waters. I figured though that I would be able to gain the aid of the man whose honor my friend was defending though. We did not meet in person before even when I served under you, but I have long heard of your sense of duty and loyalty to your people and seen it demonstrated in your actions."

Kael shrugged as he realized someone just gave him the archetype of person he should probably aim to be, since that apparently was who he was, "At least someone knows how I am supposed to be," with that Kael stood up and held his hand out across the table for the man, "We'll help you."

Trixie stood up as well, only to cross her arms instead of offer her hand, "Trixie can decide whether or not she will help on her own."

As Reuenthal took Kael's hand, the latter rolled his eyes at her stubbornness and pride. Could she ever make anything simple and easy for them? "Will you aid him in saving his friend?"

Trixie closed her eyes and turned partially away from them, including turning her head just to be dramatic, "Of course I will, Trixie is not heartless."

The confused look on the Captain's raven haired head appeared to be the most genuine of the night, with the man seeming to not understand Trixie's idiosyncrasies. Kael laughed as he shook hands with the man, glad to have someone to share this with for once.

"Don't mind her. She's…eccentric."

* * *

The plan was decided that later in the day, when it was completely dark out, the group would go to the location where Mitter'meyer was being held. It was at an open building in the forest nearby Silvermoon, starting right across from its gate and ending farther than the eye could see. This area, known as Eversong Woods, was known for having wild animals attack travelers, but Reuenthal granted Trixie and Kael a map to traverse the area's basic roads so as to not travel too far into the woods.

Also provided were details on the patrols of local guards searching for enemies who would creep on Silvermoon in the night, which gave Trixie and Kael a good way to avoid conflict on the way to the destination marked on their map. The map was actually one of the whole continent, but Trixie and Kael kept the giant map folded up to only display the region they were in, which was the top of the continent.

Once at the location they would systematically confront the guards and do whatever necessary to render them unconscious before freeing the prisoner. Given the lack of security it would seemingly be a simple operation, and Trixie actually felt a little excited about it. The idea of acting in rebellion and saving a noble man who fought for his prince only to be wrongfully imprisoned made her quite giddy, as it would be a great story to tell later. Something she could perhaps use if she were to perform for an audience, which was something she was beginning to want to do more and more with each passing second.

On the other hand, what was not effecting her every second was the supposed magic addiction she had displayed earlier. Trixie did not know how to explain it, but she didn't feel any signs of withdrawal, but she was not going to complain either so long as it continued.

Still, as Trixie and Kael both lounged about their room in wait for the "prison" break, Trixie could not help but feel slightly unnerved by their new ally. He seemed honest, and his cause was definitely genuine with how tense he had grown, but Trixie still could not help but feel uneasy.

Was it his eyes? His cold personality? While not seemingly a bad man, Reuenthal did not seem to be the most welcoming of personalities. This Mitter'meyer must be quite the good man to befriend such a fellow, who seemed otherwise unapproachable on a personal level.

Trixie had ordered as much alcohol as she could afford with her portion of their earnings, fully intending to lift as much money as she could off the guards that night. They were working willingly for people who were doing something wrong, so they would be punished, though not hurt in any permanent fashion. Perhaps they were only serving to support and protect their families after all, and Trixie could not fault them for that.

Despite drinking down enough alcohol to knock a grown man out, Trixie could barely feel anything at all. Her constitution for such things appeared far greater than an Elf really should have, but she was not about to complain. She was quite enjoying wine, actually.

With her final glass in hand, Trixie decided to voice some of her mind to the man standing across the room, "Do you think we can trust him?"

When she asked him, Kael was reading his spellbook, having spent the time since Reuenthal's departure reading up in comparison to Trixie's more leisurely activities.

"If he intended to betray us, he could have easily taken us by force or brought forces with him to apprehend us," Kael looked up from his tome at Trixie, who had just finished her wine and was wiping some from her lips. Something about this all resonated with him positively, as Kael knew how desperate he would be if Trixie were taken from him, "I think he is a man who has had his only friend taken from him and he knows no-one who can help him save the man, only to come across by chance someone who he believes to be trustworthy based on previous reputation."

To that Trixie had no real counter argument. Reuenthal really had nothing to gain by lying to them, and he possibly had a lot to gain by turning them in. Instead he approached them alone and confronted them while revealing himself to be honest. He could possibly be the tool of someone else, Trixie reckoned, but the man's mannerisms and speech indicated he was not some simple pawn.

To further his case on why he trusted the man Kael explored the theoretical mentality of the Captain, "Besides, if he believed the rumors about me, he would be the kind who would be more supportive of this regime. Instead, he likely thinks me here on some secret business, which would imply I do not want anyone to know I am here despite technically being the lord. That then implies I am actively avoiding those in charge, who are currently known to be spreading rumors about my loyalties."

Trixie sighed before shrugging and getting up from the table, idly placing the wine glass down while stretching her lithe limbs out, "I suppose that I will do this as a favor to you, to pay you back for helping me in my tasks earlier."

"Think though, earning the loyalty of two members of Silvermoon with some rank behind them can be quite useful. I mean, you were the one who was speaking of treason. We will need allies to do that."

There was no natural light that lit the room, so by blowing out the candles one could make it appear like it was nighttime. Since they would need to be up late that night, Trixie decided to get some sleep while she could and so she stumbled over to the bed they shared, "Yeah, yeah. It ruffles my fur that these jerks in the city are so downright authoritarian. Forcing people to think their way, threatening them with giant robots…"

Kael placed his book down and blew out the candles nearby him as Trixie did the same on her way to bed. He couldn't read in the dark after all, or at least do so as well, "You do know that, as a supposed Prince, I am an authoritarian figure as well?"

Once on the bed, Trixie happily chirped back, "Benevolent dictatorship. Something that's slipping my mind says I am used to those, and in favor of them."

"Just about every nation I can think of on Azeroth is a Kingdom or something of the sort, so that is not that surprising."

"You had better not become some tyrant. Though, I suppose if you do I can always go on another epic quest and defeat you," Trixie warned at first, before it became a fit of laughter.

Kael took his side of the bed and blew out the last light while letting a laugh escape his own mouth, as he really didn't think things would come to that dramatic conclusion, "I'm doing this right now out of obligation and a lack of direction. I highly doubt I will ever reach that point."

"Good. Now, let us get some rest while we can. He will be back in the middle of the night, will he not?"

Kael realized in the darkness that in the brief time he took to get to the bed that Trixie had stripped herself of the clothing she seemed to think extraneous, namely everything but her underwear, and the Elf groaned. Did she come from a culture that did not have the same modesty standards? He could think of no other reason for her exposure, though no matter the cause it still made him uncomfortable.

In a veiled attempt to get her to put her clothes back on so he wouldn't have to sleep next to her bare skin, Kael decided to address another issue, "Aren't you cold?"

Trixie gestured to their shared blanket while pulling it to be mostly over her rather than him, "That's what the blanket is for. What? It's not as if Trixie just likes feeling fuzzy things…"

Kael was right before. Eccentric was definitely the word for her

Well, that or insane. Kael would rather she be considered the former, as it would say a lot about him if his only friend was an insane woman who seemed to have the mentality of an animal on occasion.

* * *

Later that night in the Eversong was a much less comfortable Elf in a far less friendly situation.

"Why are you not eating? Afraid of being poisoned?"

A blonde man in a set of black dress clothing sat in his designated jail cell, which in reality was just a large open building of the same architecture found all around the area, especially those in Sunstrider Isle. The circular building had no real door and was completely open, even with the two guards posted outside. Inside the singular room was an assortment of things that would make it appear well furnished and hospitable.

In reality it was anything but. It was the place of an illegitimate sentencing and imprisonment, and if not for the man's sense of right and wrong he would just walk out.

The guards had brought Mitter'meyer food multiple times, but each of them was met with no response. The food was later shared amongst the guards, but the fact was that a few days had gone by. Mitter'meyer was needed alive for when he was to be executed, so letting him die of malnourishment was something the guard leader was worried about. It would reflect poorly upon him if the prisoner died before those who wished to handle him had their chance after all.

Sitting quietly in the corner on the floor, willingly refusing to take a seat in the provided chairs and the like, was Mitter'meyer. His food remained on the table across the room, and he had not moved to touch it at all. He was handcuffed, but he was capable of walking around.

The blonde captive shook his head, "I am not that weak hearted, and I know they wouldn't go to all of this trouble just to poison me. They could do that in court without anyone being any wiser, all they would have to do is blame it on some suspected rebels or the Humans."

The guard narrowed his eyes at Mitter'meyer while picking the tray of food up, not understanding then what was the man's issue, "Then why are you leaving your meal untouched?"

Mitter'meyer smiled to himself, not even looking up at the man whose duty was to keep him there.

"If I got fat, my wife would hate me."

The man looked over Mitter'meyer and found the idea preposterous, even though Mitter'meyer was quite stocky for an Elf as well as slightly below average in height. This only was really noticeable when placed next to his friend Reuenthal though, who's above average height for an Elf and wide but thin frame opposed his friend's more blocky one.

With nothing more to say, the guard left Mitter'meyer to his solitude. There was only one entrance to the structure, and there was no real threat to be faced. After all, who would dare oppose the nobles and leaders who imprisoned him to begin with?

Once alone Mitter'meyer sighed to himself, opening his eyes as he considered the possibility of seeing his loving wife again. He fully intended to, but that would hinge on the actions of his friend.

"Since Reuenthal told me to leave it to him, I have no doubt he's making his best possible effort to get me out of here."

Still, the work of a single Captain might not be enough…at least, Mitter'meyer worried that much.

"But…"

Someone entering through the drapes that served as the only kind of "door" to the structure stopped Mitter'meyer from finishing his thought. The man who entered was wearing red and black cloth robes and had orange-red hair, and was in fact the same man who earlier that day quelled the public rally that Kael and Trixie witnessed and where Reuenthal had noticed the two.

The man entering approached Mitter'meyer before bowing to the man, a mocking smirk on the clothed man's face, "How do you do, Captain Mitter'meyer? I am Priest Kath'mar. Normally, I interrogate and turn those who commit the crime of lese majesty."

Mitter'meyer remained stoic, simply staring at the Priest with contempt.

In an act of perceived superiority, the Priest leaned over Mitter'meyer and looked down at the sitting man, "And when I say interrogate, I mean things like flaying someone's mind, and the ever lovely turning them against their friends and family. I serve our beloved country with such skills, just as I'm sure you once served with your own."

The lack of response was a continued effort on Mitter'meyer's part to not give this man any satisfaction. As a Paladin, Mitter'meyer knew of the Light that granted him strength, the same Light that powered Priests and their abilities…which included the mentioned mind control and mind flaying, things only the less savory Priests would ever resort to. Usually sadists.

To further prove himself to be the latter, Kath'mar stood back up while laughing darkly at the prisoner before him, "Now, of course, I pride myself upon such skills as a type of art. There are many people who value such an art, and there are many occasions where I'm asked to demonstrate my skills in places other than in my employment."

The Priest brought a hand to stroke Mitter'meyer's face, only to then pat him on the cheek and take a step back, "So many people these days who need some good, old mind alteration. What's a Priest to do but oblige his superiors and correct society of its blemishes?"

"Serve the Light and not anyone who would subvert it?" Mitter'meyer snarked back, not caring about what the ignoble Priest may do in retaliation. He could whether some pain for the sake of his own pride.

The Priest did not seem wholly offended, rather appearing amused by the quip, "Coming from a Paladin of the Blood Knights? Those who are stealing the power of the Light from a being who was captured by Sunstrider instead of actually adhering to its tenants and rules?"

Mitter'meyer lowered his head and closed his eyes. After a moment he laughed softly to himself, amused by something the Priest said.

"You really should call him by his first name…"

Kath'mar snorted, "Oh? What part? The Kael or the thas?"

Mitter'meyer looked back up and glared at the man with fury, "You meant to say 'Lord'. He is the superior of each of us, and I will not hear you disgrace him by referring to him so disrespectfully!"

With that outburst he incited the fury of the Priest, and the session of "interrogation" began.

* * *

**Author's Note: _Introducing canon foreigners! Since so many characters in World of Warcraft are referenced to existing characters of other things, and so many players emulate characters with their own playable ones, I am keeping with established tradition and doing so here!_**

**Thanks for reading, and I hope that I can hear your thoughts in the reviews below!  
**


	7. Level 7: The Gale Wolf and Cunning Eagle

**_A/N: Special thanks to KingHoborg for reviewing last chapter and _****_Wisesarachi, Little Porcelain Marionette, and Nine De Five for favoriting the story! I hope you continue to enjoy, and I hope to hear everyone's thoughts in the reviews below!_**

* * *

Priest Kath'mar was none too pleased by the words and tone of his prisoner, who was supposed to be crying and whining like all others had in the man's experience. However, to keep from making the man a vegetable too soon, Kath'mar decided to respond in a manner not involving the mind.

Kath'mar summoned a shadowy tendril from his hand and whipped it out at Mitter'meyer, who let the shadowy force strike him. The Knight could weather some pain, and he had no desire to make matters worse for himself by retaliating.

"You think you are so much better than us, don't you?" Kath'mar lashed out again as he snarled venomously, "Well where's the honor of a Paladin who's forsaken their vows for their prince? How are you any better, you punk?"

Mitter'meyer did not even grunt as he was struck again, simply accepting the pain as the ethereal whip struck through him and inflicted a pain few were able to withstand.

Seeing the stern, kept face of Mitter'meyer made the Priest actually smile. This wasn't going to be quite as easy as it often was, and a challenge was most welcome after countless whiners, "You know, for someone with my hobby, someone with high social status is the most desirable material. People who usually act snobbishly cry and shout in front of me begging for mercy," he tilted his head back to let out a sinister cackle, "To watch such a sight is the most fun of all."

The fact that this man was supposedly a servant of the Light which guided the Paladins and Priests of Azeroth made Mitter'meyer want to spit in disgust. If the man had been under his command he would have his sadism punished with harsh discipline and a possible execution if he continued to dishonor the entirety of their species with such cruelty.

For now though, he continued to bite his tongue and wait. Reuenthal had said he would come, and Mitter'meyer did not want to be the agent behind his own escape. He was being punished for something he did do after all, even if things were only escalated due to the status of those he throttled in retribution for their words. If he was to be freed, he would allow it, but to have agency in that release would mean turning his back on some of his vows and loyalty to the laws he was sword to protect. Even if his foes would ignore them, he would not stoop to such a level.

Reuenthal, the more pragmatic of the friends, would be just fine with breaking a rule in these extenuating circumstances, a fact Mitter'meyer was also fine with. After all, Reuenthal's act of rebellion would negate the actions done against Mitter'meyer, and there was no dishonor in being freed by a noble friend.

It made sense to Mitter'meyer, even if it might not to an outsider not familiar with his code and honor, and that's what mattered. He knew he could free himself and beat the guards into the ground if he so pleased, since a Knight was more capable than normal guards.

Realizing that he had lost the attention of Mitter'meyer, Kath'mar lashed out with his shadowy tendril again. As the summoned weapon of sorts hit its mark the Priest smirked smugly, pleased by the marking it made across Mitter'meyer's cheek, "From that perspective, someone who became a Lieutenant in the Farstriders, and then gained a Knighthood in the Blood Knights, by the age of twenty two despite coming from a common background can be said to be even better mind bending material."

Mitter'meyer looked back up to the man, only keeping himself calm by imagining what he wanted to do to the Priest. A smack of the hammer to the man's clean teeth would be quite nice, and some nice strangulation would be good payment for the coming torture.

The Priest reached back to prepare a larger strike against Mitter'meyer, his voice turning back to a growl as he brought the whip forward, "So, crawl and beg for forgiveness!"

The lash was one of a flurry this time, with Kath'mar striking repeatedly again and again. Mitter'meyer did not yield however, and while excruciatingly painful he managed to survive through the pain by clenching his teeth and scowling. It couldn't last forever, not with how skinny the man was. He would have to get tired of swinging his arm sometime…though when his arm tired, he would likely resort to mental torture, so it wasn't much of a reprieve.

When the Priest's attack finally slowed after a minute or so, he ended it smiling. The prisoner was still not reacting to the pain with anything more than the slightest grunt. Silvermoon certainly had trained its Paladins quite well, "It's impressive that you haven't shrieked yet. You're quite different from those spoiled, aristocrat boys," Kath'mar leaned in to smugly look down at his prey, "But that makes this even more fun."

Mitter'meyer resisted the urge to spit on the very close man's face, and instead continued to just sit where he was on the floor. The man certainly seemed…enthused with his so called hobby, and Mitter'meyer found himself wondering why Silvemoon would ever employ such sadists. Were there others like him, or was this some abnormality? If there were others, they would need to be dealt with upon his return.

"When will such a young prodigy finally lose his self-respect and scream for mercy?" Kath'mar taunted as he prepared himself for another assault. It was easiest to bend someone's mind when their body was too weakened to resist, and he doubted this Paladin could resist the touch of darkness forever against his body. The opposing force to the Light they used, it would be quite pleasurable to see a Paladin fall to its power.

"What a garrulous guy…" Mitter'meyer whispered to himself, annoyed almost as much by Kath'mar's need to talk as by the physical strikes.

Reuenthal had better come soon. Even someone as disciplined and tough as Mitter'meyer would be unable to survive unrestrained torture forever, at least not without some irreparable damage.

* * *

Following the instructions given to them by the extremely prepared and thoughtful Reuenthal, who seemed quite capable in his organizational skills given the thought and detail put into the plans given to the two. Exact specifications on the patrol paths of guards, their shift changes, and even the details concerning the specific details of each man on the guard force were included.

For example, the guard on the right side of the nightly patrol by Silvermoon City had a habit of checking everything and every movement around him in an almost paranoid fashion because of a time he had been attacked by a young human bandit who for some reason had been in the region, while the one to his left would often deride his companion for his seeming paranoia as well as for being beaten up by a little girl, and so he was often less perceptive as he spoke and did not want to appear as high maintenance as the other man.

The map was easy to follow, especially because the trees were widely spaced apart for the most part, with each of them being quite tall and thick. At night they hid the ground from most of the stars, though enough moonlight passed through to grant visibility in the forest.

On the guard staff of the target outpost were some veteran members of the force, although veteran did not mean skilled. While each had a long service, none of them were particularly distinguished, which made their reassignment easier to the place where no guards should rationally be assigned on any official matter.

It was a simple manner of timing to avoid the guards patrolling through the forest given their sparse number, since only three teams of two men each were out. Reuenthal had not been wrong about the light amount of personnel, though in this one instance it was a positive factor in Blood Elf life. Should an outside foe attack though, Silvermoon would likely fold and collapse given any prolonged period of combat.

The outpost was not too far into the forest, and Trixie considered herself lucky to have not run into animals on the way. Perhaps they were all asleep? She wanted to balk at the idea, but even she realized it would appear odd to her companion if she just balked out of nowhere seeing as the thought process was entirely in her head.

The building Mitter'meyer was being kept in was of the exact same model of the one Trixie had woke up beside in her first moments of consciousness. A series of the large trees surrounded it, though none were too close to the structure itself, meaning the hardest part would be approaching it. For the meantime though, three guards stood outside with no seeming worry. Their shoulders were slack, they were not pacing around, and they were stationed just beside the building.

As Trixie continued to study them, she felt a rush of adrenaline. This felt like she was some super secret agent, and she was loving it.

"This feels so awesome," she whispered to herself as she continued to survey the landscape for anything that could possibly ruin things.

Beside her, Kael was less amused by it all but found himself at leased amused by her amusement, "I can't say I'm an expert, but isn't part of being stealthy not talking?"

Realizing that he was right, Trixie spoke back in a hushed voice while frowning, "Yeah, yeah, yeah…"

Luckily for them, the assigned time of meeting was perfect and according to Reuenthal's plan. None of the normal patrols were even in this section of the forest, and they wouldn't be back for the longest time of the night according to the precise calculations made by Reuenthal concerning their average patrol times and the standard deviation from those.

Kael nudged Trixie as he noticed that their partner in crime was behind the closest tree to their right, which was in turn halfway past the building's façade in terms of the buildings length. Their own was just behind the façade, which meant that the backs of the red armored guards were turned to them but only just barely.

What caught Trixie's attention about the man was not the odd object she had never seen before in his hand, but the large bird on the branch above him. It too was looking at the guards, and Trixie realized that this was likely the extra aid Reuenthal had mentioned he was bringing.

"He's got a bird? Please don't tell me he's a Huntard too…" Trixie whispered to herself, only to realize that Reuenthal had just pointed to a faraway tree. The large black colored bird, seemingly a hawk though Trixie was no expert, flew across to the other tree in a swift movement just beneath the thick and long branches of all the overlapping giant trees of the region, which formed a canopy of sorts.

The bird let out a squawk as it took its perch on the new tree, drawing the attention of the otherwise dull guards briefly. Upon seeing its source and noticing that it was just a large bird of prey they turned back to looking idly at the ground and moving from foot to foot to stay awake. If they had been regular visitors of the forest and not city guards assigned to the outside area they may have known that such birds were extremely rare in the region, but their lack of background knowledge prevented them from realizing this.

Another thing Reuenthal had included in his mission briefing, though Trixie had honestly skipped the last couple pages. Perhaps he had mentioned the bird specifically there?

Embarassed instead of confused, Kael realized that perhaps he should have read a little more before heading out. He had trouble sleeping at first because of his companion's inability to grasp basic decency, and that meant it took longer than expected to sleep. Perhaps he would have to factor this into future plans of sleep, so as to not miss out on important things, since he doubted Trixie would change: either in her comprehension of clothing or in the literal sense of changing into real clothes or at least basic pajamas.

In the time the bird had distracted the guards and the two prowling adventurers chastised themselves over their lack of foresight on the bird's aid, Reuenthal had already joined them behind their own large tree. There was more than enough room for them all to hide comfortably, even with his larger size, and he wasted no time before whispering to them.

"It appears as if the situation has become more complicated."

He was smiling slightly as he pointed to the ground in front of the building, about three hundred meters of so from it, and there stood an approaching group of three Elves. They all wore fine robes that appeared a tad bit too luxurious instead of the red and golden armor of the guards, signaling them to not be an unaccounted for patrol, but that did not make their slow approach of the building any less disconcerting.

"Why does he only smile when talking about things that are negative?" Trixie whispered extremely quietly to Kael, who just shrugged as he tried seeing if he could recognize any of the men who were approaching the building. If they were extremely perceptive beings they might have been able to see the three occasional heads poking out to observe them, but they were all chatting with one another in jovial tones which displayed that their attention was with eachother and not elsewhere.

"We will still do things as planned," Reuenthal whispered as he gripped the L shaped object in his hand that Trixie had no knowledge about. What was it? It was made of metal, and had a single hole at one end, and a place to grip the shorter edge of the L. Perhaps she would see him use it?

"Who are they?" Trixie whispered to the one in charge of the operation, who in turn ironically considered the amnesiac Kael his superior despite being the only knowledgeable one in the group.

"Some of the nobles Mitter'meyer has angered through his outburst," Reuenthal explained as he reached his spare hand into his pocket to reveal multiple vials of the mind altering liquid he showed before, "I am fortunate to have brought just enough amnesia medicine for over twice the initial amount subjects."

Kael smiled down at the sight, pleased that he had such a competent person working under him. Someone who came prepared was better than someone who just did the bare minimum of work after all, "Not fortunate. Smart. Good work."

Reuenthal accepted the praise with a quiet bow of the head before returning to scouting the situation. The nobles had reached the building and were just entering through the shroud that served as a door, which had the guards turn their attention inward and away from the outside as they saluted their employers.

Reuenthal motioned to go in, since they would have no better time to implement their plan than when the enemies were focused on the new arrivals solely, "Now remember, when you attack try to be as quiet as possible. Alerting those inside could negatively impact Mitter'meyer's health."

Instead of sneaking right on up to the guards, the group instead moved to the back section of the circular building's wall and pressed close to it, completely out of sight from their enemies. This done, Trixie and Kael were to move around one side of the building while Reuenthal made the opposite movement and approach from the opposite side. Since the guards were stationed in a V pointing outwards from the entrance, the three seeking to subdue them would attack all three simultaneously. With three of them and three guards, they should be able to handle them all in one way or another in rapid succession.

Trixie and Kael crept around to the part of the building where they still were out of sight technically, but could be seen should the guards turn around given the circular nature of the outpost. Once there, Trixie prepared to use her basic frost ability while Kael mimicked the spell. It was basic enough that even though he hadn't practiced it at all he could replicate it, especially since he had assisted Trixie in first learning it.

Once each of them was ready, the squawk of the strategically placed bird given its view of both parties signaled that it was time. Trixie rushed forward just as the guards looked up towards the bird, once again having their attention drawn to the only interesting thing to have really happened that night outside of the nobles coming by.

Trixie grabbed the guard closest to her by the back of the skull, the icy palm of hers causing him to gasp as he quickly had his neck and lower head frozen over with a sheet of ice. Kael mimicked this action on the next man, though the man had turned around just in time to be grabbed by the mouth. His mouth still froze over to keep him from yelling, but he managed to kick his assaulter back with an armored boot. While Trixie managed to completely freeze the upper body of her guard enough so he could not move, Kael's attempted to grip his face and tear the ice away.

Instead, just as his hand reached his face he fell slackly onto his knees, only to be caught by Reuenthal to prevent the man's armor from creating too much noise. Kael rubbed his gut where he had been hit hard, but Trixie looked in wonder at the last guard as he lay on the ground quietly. How had Reuenthal taken him out?

Trixie looked down to see that their partner was still holding his unknown metal object, and then another look at the guard Reuenthal was supposed to subdue revealed a dart in the man's neck. The one Kael had been fighting as well had a dart on him too, once again in the neck, revealing some stellar aiming on the part of the half-Elf.

Trixie blew a kiss to the ice figurine before her to mock the man, before whispering as softly as she could, "Sweet dreams."

With their opponents dispatched, it was time to go inside. Once inside they had no idea on how the situation would be, so they would have to improvise now that the nobles had come by. The three approached the front of the building and moved to go up its short ramp only to hear the crack of ice behind them.

Trixie turned around and watched with aggravation as her targeted guard began to move away from them despite his frozen upper body. Perhaps she should have frozen him more, but the ice usually concentrated into a thin sheet instead only had managed to cover half of him. At least he couldn't scream for help.

The man had managed to stumble enough away that going to get him would take further time out of their plan, so Reuenthal snapped his fingers and pointed at him.

"Tristan, fetch."

The bird rushed down from its perch on the tree and grabbed the man fiercely by the shoulders without making a noise, at which point the guard was hit in a sweet spot where Trixie's thin ice had melted and broken off him. Trixie actually managed to see Reuenthal use the weapon in his hand, with him pulling a trigger and then seeing the result of the man dropping to the ground as the dart's seeming poison taking effect.

The fact that he upstaged them both in some way made Trixie want to gape in awe, only recovering some of her pride based on the fact that he couldn't have possibly gotten all three of them at once so she and Kael still contributed in some fashion. The stoic man wielding the unknown weapon placed it in a holster at his side before turning to see the stunned expressions on both the others' faces. Had they never seen a marksman before?

Reuenthal bowed to the other two, partially sorry for stealing their chance at gaining experience while also knowing that he only did what was necessary. He was at a higher level of combat expertise than them currently, and so while he could do things easier than them it meant that it could make them look bad in comparison, "Do not worry. I am sure that, with time, you will surpass my meager abilities."

Kael shook his head, actually appreciating the display. Reuenthal was an allied example that there was much room for growth in terms of skill, and Kael would rather see a skilled partner than a skilled enemy. At least this way he was in awe, not quivering in fear in realization that he wasn't good enough, "It is just good to realize that there are others with far greater capabilities than us currently."

Trixie looked away from them both and crossed her arms as she grumbled, "I'm gonna read that whole book tomorrow."

Reuenthal moved to enter the building again, once again focused on their mission, while Kael patted Trixie patronizingly on the shoulder, "You mean today, friend."

"Be quiet, mister stealth means quiet."

* * *

While the others had been implementing their plan outside, Mitter'meyer had to continue to deal with his demented torturer. If he had been in a more relaxed state he may have heard the squawk of Tristan, but he would miss out on it as he instead continued to deal with the sadistic Priest.

"I told you to crawl and cry, you damn traitor!" Rath'mar yelled angrily, bringing his whip back again for the hardest strike he would yet give. However, Mitter'meyer had been brought to the boiling point by the accusation of being a traitor, and so this attack missed.

Rath'mar realized a moment too late that his strike hit the wall and floor instead of the black clothed Paladin, with Mitter'meyer having shifted on the floor to kick out across the ground.

This kick caught Rath'mar in the leg and caused him to stumble forward while Mitter'meyer jumped to his own feet. By falling over Rath'mar ended up landing on his own summoned tendril of darkness, and when it touched his body he howled in pain. What had not effected the stalwart Mitter'meyer instead made the Priest shriek nonstop until he managed to unsummon the tendril.

"That fighting was quite fitting for a lowly commoner…"

Now on his feet, Mitter'meyer turned to see that he had three new visitors. Two were officials he had physically struck, with the third being one of their circle of friends who also happened to be a noble born Elf. The only one he really knew was a member of the Magisters, the last and oldest main political faction of their society after the Blood Knights and Farstriders, by the name of Jaronis.

Jaronis was the one who had spoken, and he continued to do so after he and the other two entered the room, "It seems you're being given preferential treatment, Blood Knight Mitter'Meyer."

Magisters were users of arcane magic, which Mitter'meyer was not particularly trained in resisting, so he quickly realized this was not a favorable situation for him. He had acted in anger in attacking the Priest, but to continue his disobedience would not be a good thing for him now that he was outnumbered by so many spellcasters.

"Traitors to our race deserve more of this preferential treatment, do they not?" the Magister added, his long blonde hair sweeping over his shoulder as he turned to look at his companions who merely nodded agreeably at him.

There it was again. Mitter'meyer grew a smirk as he realized what he was about to do and say, and he realized with some grief that he was smiling at his own misfortune like his best friend tended to.

"Don't speak the Elven language when you're but mere pigs. We petty Elves might blush with embarrassment, you know?" Mitter'meyer taunted, his face still smug as he closed his eyes and tried to picture his wife's face. He might not see her again because of his words, but his pride and honor would not allow him to back down from such scoundrels even in the verbal arena.

"You..." Jaronis growled, quickly moving to punch Mitter'meyer for his insult.

This punch was deftly avoided by the trained soldier who opened his eyes just as he heard the pig speak. This in turn allowed Mitter'meyer to move around his foe entirely and let him careen into the wall in his angry rush, disgracing the Mage in his attempt at pathetic physical combat.

Now behind his foe, Mitter'meyer was able to dodge the next strike from Jaronis as well by just stepping back away from the man as he swung around. Unfortunately for the blonde haired Paladin, the other two were waiting for him and grabbed him firmly.

While normally strong enough to possibly force his way out of such a situation, Mitter'meyer had not eaten in some time and did not have the strength after enduring the previous torture to fight off the two others.

With his opponent now held still, Jaronis paused to gather himself and regain some composure before lifting his fists up to start punching the captive in his gut, which would have normally been covered by armor but was instead just a set of dress clothes after everything Mitter'meyer had been through the past days.

After hitting Mitter'meyer's stomach enough times to make himself winded and to make Mitter'meyer fall to his knees, Jaronis paused and tried to gather his faux composure again, "How about it? Did you learn your lesson? What befitting treatment for a commoner who doesn't know any manners."

Mitter'meyer had punched Jaronis into unconsciousness the other day, so the Magister thought the reverse treatment was fair payment. With the added bonus of execution, which wouldn't be investigated or cared about given the current political climate of silencing dissenters.

With a spit of blood on the man's expensive shoes, Mitter'meyer growled even as his arms hung weakly from the hold of the two others, "Who would _'learn their lesson_'? If you have true pride, take off my handcuffs and fight it out with me on equal ground," after no-one moved to do that, Mitter'meyer looked up at the Magister with disgust, "You must be scared. What a coward. Your ancestor's brave name will be covered with shame."

His pride trampled and his reputation tarnished amongst his circle of friends if he allowed a starved prisoner who had been tortured to act tougher than him, Jaronis was forced to accept the challenge even if he had lingering doubts about being able to subdue the man, "All right, commoner, I'll grant your wish," he waved a hand forcefully at his companions, "Take off his handcuffs!"

They obliged by taking the key from the nearby Priest, who had in turn taken it from the guards earlier. Once Mitter'meyer was freed, Jaronis smugly looked at the weakened Paladin and thought about how he was going to humiliate this brawny fellow, "There, I won't let you complain now."

"Certainly. I won't complain. You're remarkable..."

Mitter'meyer wasted no time in charging the Magister, first slamming into him before grabbing the now stunned man with both arms. This done, he hurled Jaronis over his shoulders with all the strength he could manage.

Jaronis slammed into the ground at such a great speed that he began coughing up into the air, his back in extreme pain as he tried desperately to breath. His companions had difficulty hiding their amusement at the sight, which in turn fueled Jaronis's anger and allowed him to fight through his pain to rise to his feet. Once upright, he charged forward to punch Mitter'meyer again, this time with a ball of fire surrounding his hand to cause real damage.

Mitter'meyer proved his natural agility by sidestepping the Magister and swinging a strong punch to the side of the man's head, knocking Jaronis to the floor.

Infuriated by this humiliation, Jaronis grabbed his throbbing head while screaming at his companions, "Use your magic! Just kill him! Kill him now!"

"But..." the other two hesitated, knowing that the preparations were not finished in covering up this death.

"I don't care if someone complains, I've had enough of this disrespectful bastard!"

Mitter'meyer looked down at the pathetic noble before him, his eyes cold as he felt the room grow both warm and cold as the other two brought forth their magic. Truth be told, he did not have the energy to take them out as well as much as he wanted to. On a normal day he could fell each of them, but he was now fighting to just keep his eyes open.

The magic that would have killed him though never struck though, as each of the men shouted in pain as their hands were hit by something. The one who had been summoning fire now had a scorched hand as his fireball exploded in his palm just as another ball of fire struck it, while the one who had summoned ice had their lower arm encased in the alternate form of water.

From the ground, Jaronis gaped in awe at what now stood behind his fair weather friends, "You...you're..."

Kael, Trixie, and Reuenthal had all entered the building, with the former two having traces of magic usage leaving their hands. Kael smiled facetiously at the man on the floor, outwardly being polite while completely hating on the pathetic man at the same time, "Hello, I don't believe we've met, and if we have I must apologize. I am Prince Kael'Thas Sunstrider, and I am here to release my loyal subordinate from your custody."

Mitter'meyer began to gape at the sight of his Prince, completely drawn away from the fact his best friend was there because the man who he had sworn his full and complete loyalty to was here to save him. This stunned reaction kept him from doing anything as his mind attempted to piece together why and how Kael'thas Sunstrider could and would be helping him.

In contrast, Jaronis shook his head, thinking himself delusional at the sight of the lord of their race, "Hah, the traitor prince is in Outland, at Magister's Terrace from what I heard. You must be a fake!"

One of the other nobles who had come to harm the prisoner tried shushing him, "Hush you fool! What if it is him?"

Reuenthal spoke up as he lifted his metal weapon up to point at the nobles, "The subject is irrelevant, as none of you will remember this."

In quick succession he shot the two standing nobles, with each falling to the ground as the tranquilizer darts he shot took them out. Seeing this happen to the others made Jaronis turn to face the Captain, who he recognized in the brief moment before he too was shot.

"You whore mongering bastard—"

Jaronis collapsed fully at the entry of the tranquilizer dart, with Reuenthal putting his weapon away once finished subduing the enemies in the room.

Trixie, curious about the namecalling, turned to Reuenthal to get an answer, "What was that about?"

Mitter'meyer shook himself out of his reverie to address the question that only elicited a frown from the Half-Elf, "Reuenthal has kept the company of a few ladies from court due to his handsomeness and exotic features," Mitter'meyer laughed as he gestured down to the unconscious Jaronis, "Ladies including that one's sister."

Not understanding the implications of what Mitter'meyer said, Trixie tilted her head, "What were they doing that would make him so angry?"

Mitter'meyer in turn did not understand that she did not understand, instead thinking her as a practical joker. He bowed to her to show thanks for her assistance in saving him, "You have a good sense of humor, miss. It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Knight Mitter'meyer of the Blood Knights."

Trixie appreciated having someone bow before her, and so she held her hand out for him to kiss to see how far she could press this envelope, "And I am the Great and Powerful Trixie, aspiring show magician."

Mitter'meyer respectfully kissed her hand, making Trixie realize that perhaps she was extremely fortunate for her present company. Being treated like a lady was quite nice, compared to just some random commoner!

Once his formalities were done, Mitter'meyer rose up and began beaming happily at her with a radiant smile, "Aspiring? Well then, have you tried performing in the arena? I hear crowds love seeing impressive displays of magic there."

Trixie found the sound of this barbaric, but if it meant she could perform and be seen for the magnificent mare she was she would do it, "There's an arena?"

Mitter'meyer nodded with joy, overestimating her skill level as he imagined what amazing performance she might be able to put on in an arena, "Of course! It'll be my pleasure to show you it to repay you for what you have done on my behalf today."

More conscientious of the fact that there was royalty in the room, Reuenthal vocally cleared his throat. This snapped Mitter'meyer's attention from Trixie to Kael'thas, who actually had not wanted to really play up the fact he was a prince and all. It felt phony and fake for him to masquerade as something he wasn't entirely sure he was, even if he was ninety nine point nine percent sure it was true.

"Oh, right!" Mitter'meyer noted as he bowed and bent down on one knee to Kael'thas, "Milord, you have my eternal gratitude. It is an honor to be visited by you, as well as protected by your divine light."

Still not wholly comfortable but seeing that perhaps he should play along, Kael gestured to Reuenthal, "You should thank your friend. He asked for our aid, and he is the one who did the most work in freeing you."

Reuenthal nodded to the exit, worried about the timing of this all and how by now some other patrols may be drawing close if they were on a particularly faster pace than usual, "I would suggest we leave the formalities for later, after we have drugged them, escaped, and assured our collective safety."

Kael agreed to that, not wanting to be caught red handed and have to reveal his identity publically, since he knew not what would happen if that were the case, "Of course."

As the others all took some of the amnesia serum from Reuenthal and began to apply it to all the immobile people, including the writhing Priest who was only half-awake, Trixie instead crossed her arms and pouted, "But I still want to know what were Reuenthal and the sister were doing together!"

They all just laughed as she continued to pout, with Mitter'meyer honestly thinking she was joking, Kael not wanting to explain the situation, and Reuenthal not feeling at liberty to discuss such a matter with a lady he barely knew.

Not that it stopped him from doing much worse things with ladies he knew far less…but it was the principle, especially since he was sensing some form of attraction from his prince towards the woman. Whether it was a friendly attraction or not, it would be ill mannered to actually answer her question, even more so than it would be to just ignore her.

* * *

Once back at the inn, the three gathered around the large table in the bottom floor with the innkeeper providing them all with refreshments to celebrate. She was familiar with Reuenthal and Mitter'meyer, with the two often coming to drink after duty at her inn instead of inside the city, which was why she assisted the former by bringing him to Kael and Trixie's room and breaching their privacy in such a manner. After all, he was a trustworthy man, and she knew he would only mean well for the good natured couple occupying one of her rooms. With no other tenants that night and the late hour, she excused herself to bed again after their return.

Reuenthal rose his wine glass up with an uncharacteristic genuinely positive smile on his face, "A toast to our returned lord, and to the safety of a friend."

Everyone rose their glasses to that, and after the first drink Mitter'meyer was the first to speak, "Is there anything we can do to repay your kindness, my lord?"

In fact, the entire trip Kael had been considering that very idea. What he had come up with though was the best for all of them, though not for himself specifically, since he decided to be pragmatic and not selfish in the inevitable order he was going to have to give his loyal servants.

The idea of having people serve him still felt odd to the humble man, but he decided to consider such a thing another night when he was less exhausted. It was the early hours of the morning after all, so intense philosophical reasoning was beyond him.

"I am tempted to ask you to accompany my companion and I, as you both seem to be quite capable soldiers and it would be useful to have such powerful and useful companions with us as we rise in our own power."

Trixie and Mitter'meyer nodded to that with a smile while Reuenthal remained stoic due to his realization that there would be a continuation to the statement.

Kael shook his head with a sigh as he finished his thought, "However, that would displace you from your duties here, and I am sure my companion and I can handle things on our own for the time being."

Thinking his lord just too humble to ask for aid, Mitter'meyer decided to explicitly offer it. He brought a hand to his chest as he pledged his grateful loyalty, "My lord, if you need us by your side you need only ask. We would each do anything for you, especially after today."

Again Kael shook his head, further explaining his reasoning so the others could understand why he was not simply rebuffing them, "I am attempting to mask my presence currently, and having two relatively high profile people accompanying me will quickly defeat that goal. I appreciate your willingness, but having two loyal companions does not outweigh the burden it may bring upon my partner and I."

Realizing this was not something that he could convince Kael otherwise about, Mitter'meyer bowed his head and sighed. After thinking over the reasoning used, he found himself agreeing that he would only endanger his lord, and he slowly lifted his head back up as he came to another thought left unanswered so far.

"If I may ask, my lord, what is the reason for your visit to Azeroth? How go things in Outland with Illidan and Warchief Kargath?"

Having anticipated this question, Kael offered his planned response to mask his lack of memory. While he trusted Reuenthal with this knowledge, it appeared that Reuenthal was the thoughtful one of the two, and while Mitter'meyer did not appear to be a fool Kael would rather have as few people know the truth as he could.

"I am afraid I am not at liberty to speak about those matters. For now, you will just have to trust that I am implementing a plan for the betterment of us all, and that there appears to be a man masquerading under my name and bringing ill sentiment towards it."

Kael looked around carefully to emphasize his point, "Do not speak of this matter to anyone else, as we do not know who we can trust here now that public sentiment is turning against me."

Mitter'meyer grew a sad expression as his lord's words sank in, which caused Trixie to mimic it as she realized there were other bad Elves out there, "There still remain many loyal to you, my lord," Mitter'meyer paused as his eyes closed and his head sagged downward. The idea that other Elves had forsaken their loyalty to the crown based on rumors bit harshly at the loyal Knight, "But…"

"They are being subjugated and brainwashed, as well as punished much like you were to be. I will not risk their safety by revealing myself and causing possible tension and conflict to arise," Kael responded, finding himself realizing that perhaps he did have some experience with politics since the thoughts were flowing so freely from him.

Mitter'meyer stood up so he could bow to his prince, "You are wise as ever, my lord."

Having been thinking this entire time about the subject matter of these men owing them loyalty and a favor of sorts, Trixie spoke up next to capitalize on it before the chance vanished, "Perhaps you two can do us a favor instead?"

Mitter'meyer stood up straight again and saluted the magician, "Whatever is it, my lady? Ask and we shall do what we can."

Trixie winked to Kael before giving her idea, one which reflected something Kael said before which she agreed with, "One day down the road we're going to be back, and we will need to have organized and rallied support for when that does happen. You two are relatively high ranking officials, even if you aren't at the top, so you are not likely to be under as much scrutiny as others, right?"

Reuenthal nodded to her after wiping his lips with a napkin, having just finished his glass of wine, "After this incident blows over, I am sure we will be forgotten as just two disgruntled figures. The Blood Knights will not allow further retaliation on one of their own, and my involvement is not known."

That affirmative response made Trixie feel all the more confident about her plan, "So, with your level of pull and your relative autonomy, can we ask that you rally support for our banner when the time comes that we return and confront the various political opponents we are sure to be faced with?"

"Of course," Mitter'meyer responded hastily, quickly bowing before them again and partially over the table. Kael wanted to laugh at how enthusiastic this man was, but he supposed he could let it go to not embarrass him.

Mitter'meyer did not remain bowing for long, as he realized with some shock that light was beginning to peek in the inn from outside. The coming of dawn reminded him that he ought to return home, so he stood up fully to salute the others, "I would love to stay with you all, but I had best return home to my wife. Evangelin must be worried sick about me, and I would loathe to be hated by my wife."

Standing up as well, Reuenthal shook his head as he brought a hand to his friend's shoulder, "He jests. His wife is a kind hearted woman whose only malice is towards those who would harm her dear husband."

Mitter'meyer actually appeared taken aback by his friend's kind words to his wife, "Words of praise from the man who hates all women? My my, has my imprisonment and distress softened you, my friend?"

"I am merely an observer of facts. You give her too little credit, just as you give me too much. I merely distrust, something wholly different from hatred."

Mitter'meyer shrugged as he brought a hand to run through his light hair, his face growing quite happy at the talk of his wife, "I suppose I do exaggerate, but I still had best return to her," he paused as an idea came to him, the Knight once again bowing, "If you so wish, I welcome you all to join me for a feast tomorrow in honor of your Majesty."

Trixie responded first, doing so by pointing her wine glass at him, "Will there be alcohol?"

With a strangely serious face, Mitter'meyer nodded to her, "Copious amounts, I am sure."

"It means returning to the city," Kael warned, remembering how much it freaked out Trixie before. Not that he was much better, but she had been the one who literally asked to leave the tyrannical place.

Not wanting to appear weak in front of company, Trixie dismissed her discomfort with a wave of the hand, "Pfft, whatever."

"I take it you are quite the fan of wine?" Mitter'meyer commented with amusement as he watched Trixie gulp down the remainder of her drink.

She nodded and laughed as she placed the glass down on the table, "Alcohol and I are new friends, but no matter how much time we spend together we never get enough."

"I will be sure to bring out my best wine then, in thanks," Mitter'meyer turned to face Kael and bowed one last time, "Goodnight, my lord. Come by tomorrow evening and my wife will have prepared you the best meal you will ever have."

With that the Knight moved to leave, with Reuenthal only offering a silent bow before following suit. As they left, Kael called after them in parting thanks.

"Thank you for your hospitality, and send your wife my thanks."

Once it was only Trixie and Kael left, they cleaned up the table and then returned to their room. Upon entering it though Trixie snapped her fingers and growled before just slapping herself on the forehead.

"Awww, Luna damn it!"

Kael rose his eyebrow at her curse, noticing for what he was sure was not the last time her saying something odd, "I think you mean Elune, but what is the matter?"

Trixie pulled out her empty coin pouch and tilted it upside down to show it was in fact empty to him, "I meant to ask them for money. I spent all of mine on wine, so we're going to have to find more work soon if we want to keep a roof over our heads."

In terms of things that matter, this was pretty unimportant so Kael shrugged. They could find work when they woke up, of that he was not worried, "Don't worry, I'm sure we'll be fine."

Trixie grumbled in agreement as she thought about the coming feast they would have in their honor, "At least we're getting a meal for our work."

Kael moved to take his spot on the bed, quite exhausted from this midnight excursion, "Don't let their royal treatment of us spoil you too much. We can't rely on others to treat us that way forever, lest we be discovered."

Trixie instead took her seat at their room's table where her blue book sat, "I could get used to being treated on like a Queen."

"For that you would have to marry a prince," Kael half-joked, unsure about what her response would be.

Trixie began to thumb through her book as she had vowed to earlier, absently responding to him, "Hmmm, you're right…" after turning a page she decided to joke a little, "Do you know any available?"

Kael sighed as he laid down to get comfortable, not caring that he had not changed out of his outer layer of robes, and responded with his own attempt at humor, "Present company excluded, I would bet that the Human prince who led to the downfall of our kind is single."

"He sounds like a horrible, selfish person," Trixie groaned, even making a disgusted face at the suggestion he made.

Kael snorted at her response, which caused Trixie to cross her arms and resent his unspoken criticism of her own selfish tendencies, "Don't look at me like that. I'm selfish, but I'm not horrible. And besides, I need someone to balance out my selfishness rather than compete with it."

Kael sighed as he brought an arm over his face, "If you say so."

Silence fell between them until Trixie had a random thought that made her giddy, "Hey, what if I am a secret princess of some sort? Wouldn't that be amazing?"

"What are the chances of that though?" Kael reasoned. Besides, her personal habits and tendency to sit like a dog might when on the floor made her hardly princess material in his eyes.

That deflated her somewhat, if only because it was true, "You're right. I should just appreciate the fact that my partner is a prince and not look that gift horse in the mouth."

Feeling a bit awkward about the whole marriage subject, Kael decided to cut it short by just announcing his intention to sleep, "That nap earlier didn't exactly do it for me. I think I'll sleep in a bit tomorrow, or rather today."

"You sleep then, prince boy. I'm going to catch up on my reading," Trixie mocked jokingly, even sticking a tongue out at him.

Kael could hear her do it, but he honestly didn't care since he could still verbally outdo her even if he was exhausted, "You don't understand the language. You barely know how to do the basics."

"I'll show you I am perfectly capable on my own. Goodnight, rich boy."

"Goodnight, poor wench."

* * *

**_A/N: Please leave your thoughts in the reviews below! It's hard to write when it seems no-one cares, so please review! I really do love hearing from you all and appreciate your thoughts greatly!_**


	8. Lvl 8: The Prince Returns to Silvermoon

**A/N: Special thanks toKingHoborg and Futureshock for your reviews last chapter, and I hope to hear from you again this chapter!**

**I hope you enjoy the chapter, and I equally hope to hear from you in the reviews below!**

* * *

Trixie ended up sleeping well into the day because of how late she stayed up reading. Without Kael's aid she was progressing very slowly in her studies, though she felt as if she was at the threshold of understanding the basics of the next spell in her book. For the time being though, she was unable to do much of anything with it, so it would have to wait until Kael could assist her.

Come afternoon, only being a little after Trixie woke up, the two made their way back into the city that they previously had fled from due to its oppressive nature. With their papers from before they managed to get back in with ease, the guards basically ignoring them because of basic recognition.

The innkeeper had given them directions to Mitter'meyer's home, with the additional info that she only knew the way because of how often she needed to find someone to bring the drinking partners of Mitter'meyer and Reuenthal back there. She didn't know where Reuenthal lived, but she sent him there with the logic that they were friends and that Mitter'meyer's wife was nice enough to also look after him.

Instead of following the path they took last time, they headed towards a section of the town on its eastern end which was named "The Royal Exchange". A series of large residences lined the area, which appeared to be the housing units of what Trixie and Kael assumed to be nobles and well off Elves.

The smallest of these houses, in fact being no more grand or large than any to be found elsewhere in the city, was the one they were directed to. The humble nature of the house contrasted greatly with the lavish and ostentatious ones to be found by it, especially since it appeared to be the only such house in the area. They would later learn that this was because it was a recreation of a house lost to the Scourge invasion, but they had no way of knowing that at the time.

Upon reaching the house, Trixie moved to be the one to knock on the door. Just because it was Kael who was really beloved to these soldiers did not mean that she would let him hog all of the attention.

The door was quickly opened, as if someone had been waiting for it specifically. The person to open it was a blonde woman with hair even lighter than Mitter'meyer's more golden hair. Her soft face had similarly soft green eyes, which matched her aquamarine dress that was quite conservative in that unlike most other dresses to be found in the Blood Elves region it covered her whole body from the bottom of the neck to where its skirt ended at her ankles.

The woman smiled and bowed her head slightly to Trixie, who smirked at the respect shown, "You must be Ms. Lulamoon. I am Evangelin," the woman rose back up to her full height only to realize that diagonally behind Trixie was the other guest Mitter'meyer had said would be coming, yet she doubted would actually arrive. She quickly bowed her head fully while giving him a curtsy with her skirt, "Oh, my lord, I must apologize! I thought my husband was putting on a farce when he said you were to visit us."

While Trixie rolled her eyes at the display, given that she was the only one seemingly able to treat him like a normal being, Kael instead waved his hand to dismiss Evangelin's gesture, "Do not worry. I am not worried about formalities."

Evangelin gratefully nodded her head before rising to gesture to the house's entrance, "Please, come in. I just finished preparing everything."

The smell of food began to reach the noses of both Trixie and Kael, with the former feeling her stomach rumble as it remembered that it had not eaten at all that day, "Thank you, Ms. Evangelin."

With that, Evangelin led the two inside to a dining room where a large table was set up with plates upon plates of food. Bread, poultry, varied and unknown meats to Kael and Trixie, fruit, and vegetables all lined the table with some visibly still having steam rise from them. Everything appeared fresh and delicious, so much so that it may have been possible that Trixie did not notice the blonde haired man sitting at one end of the table rise up to bow.

Mitter'meyer bowed to Kael, who unlike Trixie seemed to actually notice, "My lord, I welcome you to my humble home. I hope you find it and the food to your liking."

"I am sure everything will be quite fine. The smell alone is alluring. Your wife must be quite the fabulous cook."

Trixie's response was far less polite, in that she took a seat and began preparing to eat by placing a napkin on herself, "This all looks amazing!"

Evangelin smiled brightly at the enthusiastic woman before turning to also smile at Kael, "Granting you a serviceable meal is the least I can do to thank you for bringing my husband home."

Trixie began to look for utensils to eat with, only to have the until then silent Reuenthal hand her a set. He had rose along with Mitter'meyer, but his lack of speech had failed to draw any attention to him until then. Trixie sheepishly thanked him in a whisper while Kael continued the actual conversation.

"It was our pleasure. It is quite disgraceful how the officials are acting here in Silvermoon, and so righting one of their wrongs was the least I could do for a man who stood up for my name."

Mitter'meyer gestured to the table and everyone took their seats, with Mitter'meyer at one end and Kael at the opposite side. Evangelin sat to Mitter'meyer's right, with Reuenthal to his left, and Trixie sitting to his left and Kael's right.

Once seated, Mitter'meyer gestured to a nearby window with a scowl on his face, though his voice demonstrated that he was not angry at anyone present, "Are you going to confront the others here in Silvermoon who would dare besmirch your name? There are many who still adore you, despite the rumors, and it is really just a vocal minority and the major officials who are taking such a hardline stance against you."

Trixie shot Kael a look, worried about what his response might end up being, but to her relief he played it safe by making no promise.

"I am afraid that will have to wait. I wish I could say more about the subject, but…"

Reuenthal spoke for the first time in the conversation as he rose a hand to stop Kael, "We understand. We answer to you, my lord. Not the other way around."

Glad to be spared of having to explain himself, Kael found himself glad he had revealed some information to Reuenthal. It meant he didn't have to give out anything else for the time being.

Mitter'meyer cleared his throat and waved a hand at all the food before them, "Well, how about we eat? I do not want my wife's delicious food to go cold and lose its taste."

No-one had a complaint to that, and the group quickly set about devouring the food prepared for them.

* * *

The afternoon meal went by at brisk pace, mostly fueled by the enormous appetite Trixie possessed and her ability to eat at a far greater pace than everyone else. Kael and Trixie conveyed the details of their short journey thus far to the crowd, while Mitter'meyer traded his own story that led to him being imprisoned.

His rendition of it was both parts honest and humble, and at certain points Reuenthal would add a word or two to flesh it out and reveal a feat of strength or display of character on behalf of his friend. Because of Reuenthal's additions it was learned that Mitter'meyer's greatest quality was his natural agility which allowed him to blitz the offenders and take them down at a speed faster than any of them could react, speed which had earned him the name of Gale Wolf on the battlefield in past years.

Despite the praise spoken, Trixie found herself a little put off by the man's eternal cold gaze. Even in the rare moments where he would appear happy, Reuenthal's eyes were as piercing as an eagle's. Even in moments of good cheer and lightheartedness he did not lose his composure, which felt odd to Trixie. She knew she put on an act for others, one of a confident person who was in control and prideful, but she could drop it. Given his genuine concern for Mitter'meyer, he couldn't be solely cold, but just how deep was this façade of his?

After the meal, Mitter'meyer and Evangelin would not hear of letting Kael do the dishes even though he offered to do so, so Trixie found herself helping Evangelin with them. Mitter'meyer had stayed in the dining room to entertain Kael, and Reuenthal had so graciously accepted the offer from Trixie to do them. She doubted he had ever done his own dishes, and though he seemed about to offer after Kael did, she did not want to let him be a burden for Evangelin instead of an aid.

Trixie did not know how, but she felt like she knew how to do dishes. Like she knew how to be self-sufficient in some ways.

After the two started and Trixie was shown where all the supplies for the washing were they only started to talk after a thought crossed Trixie's mind, "What do you think of Captain Reuenthal?"

"He is a noteworthy and distinguished soldier, and my husband's closest friend," Evangelin replied calmly in a manner that made it sound like she had said this line a thousand times before, as if it were pre-programmed and planned, "Why do you ask?" she asked back, the woman's nice face showing some worry.

Trixie paused to try and think about how to explain why she felt so off about the man. She didn't distrust him, not after his displayed loyalty and his genuine care for his friend, but he did not strike her as a very agreeable man, "He seems…" she paused as she sought for the right word, only to resort to one she was growing fond of in her studies, "Cold."

Evangelin hung her head and let out a sad breath, as if she could not argue with the statement as much as she wanted to, "I do not think it my place to tell his history, but do not worry. It is not you personally which brings out that side of him," she looked up to Trixie and frowned, "Still…"

"Is there something else?"

Evangelin looked back down to the dishes she was working on, "While my husband's honor is his most noteworthy feature, as well as his biggest flaw, the Captain's is his overwhelming sense of pride."

Pride…Trixie could sympathize with that, even if her own was false. It would explain why the Captain carried a dignified air with him despite his tragic beginnings and the issues he must face as a result of it.

Evangelin continued on speaking since Trixie did not move to interrupt her, "He has gotten this far despite his unfortunate past, which goes to show how competent he is, so he has good reason for his prideful nature. I only wonder if his heart yearns for what he knows he could accomplish if only not for the prejudices our society casts on him. For what he knows he can never grasp."

That too resonated with Trixie…were there unfulfilled dreams and aspirations in the life she left behind? Regrets about what she could not accomplish no matter how much she worked or strove to achieve?

"He seems quite refined. He comes from a noble background, right?" Trixie asked, not remembering if Reuenthal had said so far. She would like to know as much as she could about her allies,

"His father, or at least legal father, was in quite the high position in our noble court. His mother was similarly from a good family, but given his true heritage Reuenthal has both benefited from these connections and been plagued by them. While normal people are forced to work together and cast aside their prejudices to get through life, the upper echelons of our society are not as enlightened."

As Evangelin spoke, Trixie found herself smiling more and more. The woman appeared quite intelligent, and yet every indication pointed to her being nothing more than a homemaker. Trixie honestly did not expect to find such a deep opinion from someone who she doubted was very involved in politics, and that was why she found herself happy she supposed. A pleasant surprise.

"You know, for a house wife I wasn't expecting someone so astute. You are quite the shrewd, intelligent woman."

Evangelin placed her current dish down to give a curtsy to Trixie, "I thank you, my lady. I do try my best to support my husband, but that does not mean I am unable to have my own life and opinions."

Trixie was happy that the noble and kind man was married to a similarly nice woman, and the idea that the two would make brilliant and kind blonde offspring was also heartening. From what Trixie had seen, they would make great parents.

Feeling nervous about being shown this level of respect despite being a guest, Trixie waved her head to each side, "You do not have to call me by any such title, you know. I am your guest after all."

Evangelin rose an eyebrow, genuinely curious about Trixie's downplaying of her social status, "It is only proper to address the companion of our lord in such a manner."

"I am just some common girl with no memory who has the privilege of accompanying such a kind man. Having friends refer to me as anything more feels embarrassing."

"Oh, so you and the lord are not…" Evangelin paused to lower her voice, "Involved?"

Trixie, being oblivious to all matters romantic, tilted her own head as she became the one who was confused, "Whatever do you mean? We are partners, but that does not make me a lady any more than it makes him a commoner."

"That would explain how Mitter'meyer mentioned there was only one bed…"

Trixie continued to dig her proverbial grave with every word spoken, not realizing in the slightest how her words might be received, "Oh, yes, Kael and I sleep together every night. He's quite warm, actually, though I haven't tested if he makes a good pillow yet."

Evangelin blushing and gasping made Trixie realize that perhaps she said something odd, so she tried to find out what was odd about it all.

"What? Do traveling companions not usually sleep together?"

Evangelin cast her gaze to the side, her hands slowly going about cleaning another dish, "Not unless they are lovers, though I am no expert on adventures and such things. I've only ever known Mitter'meyer in this realm of life."

Trixie slowly placed the dish she herself had been working on down, "Oh…" she felt blood rush to her own cheeks at the thought of what Evangelin had assumed, and immediately realized why her words may have been taken the wrong way, "We're not lovers, but what's so wrong with sharing a bed? It saves money after all."

Realizing instantly that this rationalization made it look no better, Trixie sighed and hung her head.

"I will admit I do not think I have ever traveled or really lived with someone, so this all is quite foreign to me…" she let out a small laugh at herself based on her own ignorance she demonstrated, "I suppose it could appear inappropriate to someone who doesn't have the proper context."

Evangelin bowed her head to Trixie, "I apologize for assuming, my lady. You and prince Sunstrider just seem to get along quite well, and that is unheard of ever since he had his heart broken so many years ago."

That caught Trixie's attention fully. It was a piece to do with Kael's former life, as well as a huge part likely of his personal life. This was juicy information she couldn't resist prying about, even if it perhaps was not her business.

"His heart was broken?"

Evangelin realized that perhaps she had said too much already and began to backtrack, "Yes, but I am not sure if he would like me to speak about it. It would be rude to speak of my lord's personal life when he is just in the other room."

It only took Trixie a moment to find a way to rationalize a way to plead with the woman, "Please, as a favor to me? I do not want to possibly bring up painful memories for him, so the more I know the easier I can avoid such a matter."

"Well…" Evangelin sighed as she realized that perhaps this would be for the better, "I know only the basics, but there was a human woman named Jaina he met who was a student of magic. We Elves live longer lives than humans, and so while our prince was older than her they were about at the same level of maturity and in terms of lifespan he was much younger. However, this age difference was still an issue for the woman, and she instead went on to love the human prince named Arthas."

Trixie was glad that Kael likely did not have this hanging over his head. Wasn't it the human prince who destroyed the Blood Elf kingdom? That meant that Kael lost the woman he loved to the man who would destroy his land and harm his people. To have that in his heart must have hurt more than a thousand arrows, "I see…"

Emboldened by the sad look on Trixie's face, Evangelin spoke in a whisper so that the men in the other room could not possibly hear her, "Do you want to be involved with our prince?"

The question made Trixie balk instantly, her mind barely processing the question before she crossed her arms and looked away, "Kael may be quite the stallion, I am not a gold-digger. If I marry someone it will be because I find them to be agreeable, not because it will boost my status. That is an unfair, disgraceful manner of achieving fame."

"That wasn't a no."

The truth behind that statement made Trixie's very full stomach drop, "He is my friend, and the only person I have had since I woke up with no memories on Sunstrider Isle. Why make things complicated by thinking along those lines? I only need a companion who will aid me in my journey, who in turn I can aid in his."

Trixie's response made Evangelin giggle before commenting again, "That sounds like an ideal marriage. A marriage is a partnership of sorts, after all."

This was a losing battle for Trixie, so she tried to find a way to drop it, "Maybe, but marriage also means having kids and the like, and I'm not even twenty…I believe. I can worry about that when I have built up a reputation and become the famous magician I wish to be."

The mention of children caused Evangelin's face to grow stoic for a moment, which Trixie picked up on because the hostess did not have a reply right away this time.

"Did I say something wrong?"

Evangelin gave Trixie a sad smile before shaking her head.

"No, don't worry about it. I'm fine."

* * *

Across the house Kael and the two soldiers had continued their own conversations when the two women had left to clean up. Kael felt bad about having Trixie do it in his place, but he didn't want to act out of his role prescribed to him by his hosts, who seemingly fully believed him to be the one and only Kael'thas Sunstrider even if his clothes were ruined and he seemed a bit out of it overall. A prince doing the dishes would seem quite odd, and while it may be charming in some ways it would possibly make them doubt him…

Though, the more Kael thought about it, perhaps Mitter'meyer could be let in on the secret as well…

The host broke out a bottle of wine and presented it to both Kael and Reuenthal, with the latter holding up a hand to pass on it, "As pleased as I am that you have returned, Mitter'meyer, I believe I will refrain from drinking too much. I have dinner plans tonight."

Mitter'meyer narrowed his eyes at his friend as he placed the wine bottle down with some force, "What will it take for you to settle down and stop this philandering? It's a different girl every night!"

"Statistically, I believe it is more of an average of five to six days," Reuenthal replied with closed eyes and smile he would grow when he was in some bad situation, this time because he was being accosted for something he could realize was an issue of sorts, but not one he cared to fix or change in any way.

"The fact that you can have a statistical analysis means you need to stop and settle down," Mitter'meyer forcefully replied, his voice seeming to show that they had had this conversation many times before.

Not really wanting to get in-between the two in their argument, but also having things he wanted to talk about instead, Kael cleared his throat to draw their attention, "Ahem."

Realizing that perhaps talking about Reuenthal's nightly activities in front of his lord was not appropriate, Mitter'meyer quickly bowed, "Oh, I apologize my lord for bringing up such a topic in your presence. I just wish my good friend was as well adjusted as myself."

Kael smiled at him, not really minding because he had not been really paying attention. Instead he had been focused on the issue he had been thinking of before, and he had come to a conclusion on the matter, "Do not worry. I just wanted to ask a favor of you two."

"A favor?" Mitter'meyer replied with confusion, not knowing anything about what Kael had on his mind. Reuenthal on the other hand was more perceptive and expected something along the lines of what Kael was about to say given how he had already been informed.

"Mitter'meyer, this cannot leave the room," Kael whispered just loud enough to be heard, "I already spoke with Reuenthal on the matter, but I am suffering from amnesia."

The Knight gasped as he began to think about what that meant, "My lord…"

Kael spoke up as the Knight's sentence drifted off, "I do not know what happened to me, but here I am without any memory. If you could say whatever stories you have of me, it may help me recover some of my thoughts and return to how I once was."

"Of course. Anything for you, my lord—"

A loud noise unlike any Kael could remember came from outside the building, and it made everyone turn to face the window. Reuenthal and Kael each stood up to look outside, while Mitter'meyer moved to look through a different window.

Each of the three, even the stoic Reuenthal, found themselves stunned at what they saw as Trixie rushed into the room to join them, "What was that noise?"

She joined Mitter'meyer by the window since the large Reuenthal and the decently tall Kael obscured the other in the room. Outside was a sight that Trixie did not expect to see at all:

A elegantly robed man stood at the front of a large crowd of red skinned beings with thicker and broader features than Elves as well as similarly red eyes which blended in with their bodies, which were mostly unclothed except for armored pants and large shoulder pads. Each of the red beings also had a missing lower arm which was replaced with a blade of some kind. The only one of these unknown beings to really stand out was the one at the head of the pack, standing right behind the Elven man who was seemingly in charge. This one had a full set of armor, long black hair, and was far larger than the others around him. His own blade reflected this, and appeared far more menacing than the others standing behind him, which Trixie and Kael each assumed made him the dominant one of his group.

And the man standing before him?

"That's…" Trixie gaped as she tried to understand what she was seeing. Could it really be that…

From the streets emerged a man who appeared to be some kind of official given his seemingly expensive robes that held the colors of Silvermoon. He said what was on everyone else's minds as he approached and knelt before the man in similar crimson and golden robes, "Lord Kael'thas, you've returned! How fortunate it is to see you again!"

Standing at the front of a small army of unknown creatures was a perfect replica of Kael'thas, which made the one who had been accompanying Trixie feel intense fear. Was this the man who had been reportedly committing evil acts? If so, this was not going to go well, and if not, then it meant he himself might be seen as a fraud.

The Silvermoon official rose and gestured to the men standing behind the Kael'thas from Outlands, "These red Orcs are your guests I presume?"

The second Kael'thas finally addressed the man, having previously been looking around as if to observe all that has changed in his absence, "We will not be staying long, so guests is perhaps overstating it. We only seek to bring M'uru back with us, and find a person of particular interest."

Trixie rose an eyebrow. What was a M'uru?

Fortunately, her question was partially answered by the official, who quickly became worried by what this Kael'thas had said, "My…my lord, M'uru grants us the power we need to survive. It is their energy that allows us all here in Silvermoon to not give in to our addictions…"

The well dressed Kael'thas smirked and shook his head slowly, "I understand, but I do not care. Normally I would have only used this as a last resort, but I seek to implement plans with M'uru earlier than intended given that things have changed."

Others in the street had begun to gather around the scene, and while initially joyous at the sight of Kael'thas the crowd was beginning to grow weary and cautious.

The official gasped at his lord's apathetic statement, his surprise quickly turning to anger despite the person he was speaking to, "You have no right to take our power from us! How will we live without it?!"

"Was I not the one who had M'uru brought here for you to all siphon energy from?" the Kael'thas outside asked rhetorically, "As your leader, I demand you step aside, Magistrix."

Some guards from the city and their mechanical golems came to join the Magistrix in defying the prince, "We cannot let you pass! Not as you betray our people! You promised to find a way to help us, not take back the gift you once gave us and doom us to extinction!"

Seemingly disappointed, Kael'thas snapped his fingers, "Very well then. Kargath, handle the dissidents."

The once known as Kargath, the large Orc in armor behind Kael'thas, let out a guttural laugh as he stepped forward and moved passed the second Kael, "As you wish. Illidan did say to help you, so it will be my pleasure to carve up a few of these dissidents."

The name Illidan rang a bell in both Trixie's and Kael's mind as being the one who Kael was supposed to be working with in the realm known as Outlands…which meant that this indeed was the alternate Kael, and his flippant and cruel demeanor seemed to reveal him as exactly the villain so many had worried about him being.

Kargath levied his bladed arm at the guards before him before swinging it slowly to sweep across the crowd, "If anyone has any objections to your Prince's demand, voice them now or step aside!"

"We can't let you—"

The Magistrix never spoke another word, as the blindingly fast Kargath cut him down where he stood in a single strike. The blade that formed his lower left arm severed the man's head and half his chest in a quick, curved strike that was almost impossible to actually see.

Kargath laughed as the man's remains hit the ground, "One."

Inside his house, Mitter'meyer growled and balled his fists. He refused to believe that the man outside was his prince, especially since he had a man who was like the prince he once remembered right at hand. Who was this imposter outside, and why was he deceiving everyone?

Two of the golems and two of the guards from the city moved to attack the large Orc, who happened to not be receiving any aid from his own allies.

The reason for that was that it was not a fight.

Kargath quickly impaled each of the two Elven guards, only to use their corpses as projectiles to fling at a rapid pace at the sentries, which broke as Elves hurtled through them as if they were launched from a cannon.

"Three!" Kargath continued to count, seemingly not considering the golems as kills.

Inside the house, Kael was left too shocked to know what to do. There was absolutely nothing he could do to stop the small army outside, and even those putting up a resistance were falling without any seeming chance of winning. He wanted to go and help out, but by the same token he knew such an effort would be worthless.

Trixie was in the same boat, though she was growing sick from the sight of the various dismembered guardsmen and the Magistrix. The way they were butchered made her almost lose her recent meal.

Not as new and untrained as Trixie or Kael though, Mitter'meyer had less reservations about going outside and aiding his comrades. He cast his gaze over to his partner as if to ask permission, "Reuenthal."

Outside Kargath slew another Elf, with his dozen or so soldiers behind him engaging some others guards and seemingly holding the upper hand in the combat, "Oh come now, I thought you Elves were stronger than this! What a disappointment your people proved to be, Prince."

Reuenthal returned his friend's look, though he did so with a shake of the head. He was scowling though, as if the sight before him was enough to make even the cold man angry, "We will lose this fight. Those Orcs appear to be empowered by demon blood, if their odd coloration means what it did when they first became green."

Mitter'meyer slammed a hand down on the nearby table, "We can't just sit by and watch!"

Reuenthal nodded, first pointing outside to point at one Kael before pointing at the one they had been with, "Of course not, but there is an imposter parading around our city with forces that outmatch our own. It is important that we grant our real lord an opportunity to escape."

More hot blooded than Reuenthal but still intelligent, Mitter'meyer understood the Captain's logic. They would be of no real aid and just get themselves killed if they assaulted the invaders head on, but they could accomplish a different goal if they tried, "Of course."

Unlike the two soldiers, Trixie and her partner were not anywhere near as composed at the time. While Kael was shocked by the sight of his physical double and the grossness of his actions, Trixie was beginning to feel frightened for her life. She wanted to help out the poor people being cut down by the men serving the fake prince, but at the same time she had seen firsthand how monstrous the Orc leader was and she doubted that she could even contest one of his smaller counterparts. The feeling of wanting to take action mixed with her fear made Trixie feel disgusted with herself, as she was essentially frozen from acting in any way as her mind and morality battled.

As the one most in control of his emotions and mind at the time, Reuenthal was the one to make his way to the exit while beckoning the others to follow. Kael'thas might be his prince, but he would not allow his prince's shock lead to the possibility of him being caught by these foes. They would most certainly be interested with obtaining the true Kael'thas, and Reuenthal had a feeling that the person of interest mentioned outside was none other than the one he had with him.

Was it possible that the Kael with him was the fake and the other the real one? Of course, but witnessing each of them and their actions made the distinction clear in the Captain's mind.

"Come, we must go before things escalate further."

Mitter'meyer moved to hurry the stunned Kael along, only to then realize that his wife had been standing behind them all. Evangelin stood in shock at the screams and the view of the outside, causing her husband to rush to her side.

"It will be okay, Evangelin, and I will be back soon. Stay inside, and stay hidden."

She nodded as she and her husband embraced. She was used to seeing him off to battle, but this was a civil war literally at their front door.

"Be safe."

Kael shook himself out of his dazed state to begin evacuating the building as well. While one might be tempted to stay inside at all costs, Kael had the same worry as the Captain in that it was incredible timing that this alternate Kael appeared at the same time as him. The further he could get from him, the better.

With a glance to the side, Kael noticed the similarly out-of-it Trixie falling into step beside him as they made their way to what Kael assumed was a rear exit of the house.

With concern and care both, Kael gripped her hand, though the apparently shocked Trixie did not seem to grab his back. With this grip though he managed to keep her following them at a faster speed than the mentally stunned magician might otherwise have managed on her own.

Reuenthal led Kael, Trixie, and Mitter'meyer to the back of the house where an alternate door rested. He swiftly threw this door open with the flick of a wrist and urged the others through, and once they were all outside and had a building in-between them and the chaotic brawl, he pulled the door shut and began to hurry past them.

The path he was taking them to leave was actually in the direction of the city's main entrance, and by hiding behind buildings they managed to escape the attention of the Orcs as they continued to battle. The sight of their comrades being cut down was making Mitter'meyer's blood boil, but he continued behind the others as a read guard in opposite of Reuenthal's lead.

After cutting across a few yards and actually busting down some fences with Mitter'meyer's strength and a hammer he had grabbed on the way out when neither Kael or Trixie were paying attention, they managed to circle around the conflict raging in the streets and were a few hundred feet from the front entrance to Silvermoon…

…which happened to have Orcs battling the guards, who seemed to be overwhelmed as the red skinned invaders beat them savagely with rapid speed and strength far greater than their own.

This did not perturb Reuenthal, who had actually seemed to expect this. The entrance of the city opened into a U shaped path, the left branch of which Trixie and Kael had taken in their first visit and the right branch they took to get to Mitter'meyer's house. With an index finger pointing to a building nearby the entrance but partially down the path Reuenthal continued to lead the others past the second battle, "This way."

Before they could manage to slip in-between the two sites of conflict, a deep bellow called out across the road which made Mitter'meyer stop.

"Is that a Blood Knight I see running away?" came the taunting voice of Kargath, who was adeptly handling two more soldiers as he watched the retreating four Elves, "What kind of Paladin runs and lets his people die so meaninglessly?"

The others stopped to look back at their companion, who instead of looking angry instead had a smile on his face as his fists clenched. His face may have appeared smug and positive, but in reality it was hiding a seething rage befitting of a man who could not stand injustice or anything dishonorable.

"Twelve," Kargath shouted as he cut down his two foes, and inadvertently and possibly intentionally deciding Mitter'meyer's mind up. The Paladin turned around and prepared his hammer, his pace slow as he began to prepare himself for battle. He was grateful he and Reuenthal had worn their full dress clothes, not that Reuenthal ever seemed to wear anything else, to the meal as a method of respecting their lord.

"Mitter'meyer," Reuenthal warned his friend. While wholly confident in the fighting capabilities of the man, he knew the danger of fighting enemies empowered by demonic energies, and he also knew history well enough to recognize the name of Kargath Bladefist, warchief of the Shattered Hand clan and former hero of the Orc Horde.

Mitter'meyer shook his head as his eyes began to focus on the Orc warchief coming his way, "He's seen us. At least this way I can buy you some time. Let me repay my debt to you all."

Kael wanted to object, as did Trixie, but neither spoke up. How could they turn down his offer when they all could die if they did not take it? Mitter'meyer and Reuenthal perhaps could combat the Orc with the giant blade for a limb, but they could also take care of the vulnerable Trixie and Kael.

Understanding his friend's decision, Reuenthal nodded and turned to leave once again, now intending to hurry twice as fast as he previously had, "Once they are safe, I will return for you."

"Take your time. I have twelve comrades to avenge."

With that Reuenthal actually grabbed Kael and tugged him for a moment, forgetting briefly in his concern for his friend about who it was he was escorting. He could not afford to allow Kael and Trixie to either stray or lag behind, and he was at least glad that the other Orcs seemed single mindedly focused on their individual battles to notice anyone else.

Just before Kael could manage to look away from Mitter'meyer he noticed the man rush forward at Kargath, snarling as he approached the large Orc. Another Orc attempted to get in his way, not seeming to realize the challenge that had been levied, only to be smashed across the face with a blurred hammer strike that caused the Orc to crash and tumble before impaling theirself on their bladed arm. Kael did not get to see the next moment where his loyal subordinate actually clashed weapons with the warchief, but he hoped dearly that the man would be okay.

The building that Reuenthal had gestured to before turned out to be an Inn of a similar style to the one the other two had been staying at, except this one had an exit on the other side which Reuenthal was focused on reaching. He had to push past some civilians to make a path for his group, meanwhile only offering the weak apology of, "Excuse us."

A woman in the room scoffed at the sight of him dragging someone along with him, who in turn was dragging someone along with him too, "Reuenthal, you never visit, and now you are rushing through. What is going on out there?"

Reuenthal ignored them to instead push Kael and Trixie outside, at which point he pointed at a wall to their left. To their right was the area the mind controlling incident had happened, so Kael and Trixie had not yet encountered this area. It appeared to be a bazaar of some kind, though the details did not make themselves readily apparent to the two as their minds were otherwise preoccupied.

"Silvermoon is not fully restored yet. Over there, through that building next to the wall, you will find a hole that a child could fit through. You will have to find a way to make it larger, but we should be grateful we have invested more in fine wine than the restoration of this city."

A large growl and a scream from nearby in the bazaar revealed that an Orc had wandered over here as well, and was currently assaulting some mages who had no idea previously what was going on.

In reaction to this Reuenthal lifted a weapon similar to the one he had used the other night and pointed it at the Orc, and with the click of a finger the Orc's body fell to the ground, blood spilling from the temple of its head, as a loud bang came from the mechanical device.

Reuenthal nodded over to the other two as he once again pointed to one of the buildings which lined against the city's wall, "Go. The Orcs will have no guards outside the city, so head south and find Fairbreeze village. From there you can secure passage to wherever you may desire to travel."

"Hold up, I'm not about to let a bounty get away!" came a voice familiar to Trixie and Kael from behind them in the Inn. The group looked back to see the Hunter from Sunstrider Isle, her face cold as she glared at Kael once again.

"You again?" Trixie gasped, surprised to run into her again. Had she been staying at this Inn instead of their own? And of all times to see her…

The Hunter pulled her bow out and pointed a loaded arrow at Kael, "I thought I recognized you at Sunstrider Isle. I don't know why there are two of you, but you seem to be far less powerful than the other. People will still want your head on a pike after this though, so I bet I can get a reward for bringing you back with me."

Reuenthal did not seem very worried about the archer, instead noticing four more Orcs wandering into the bazaar. With a quick snap shot he shot the hand of the Hunter and made her drop her bow, the woman growling in pain as he gave a strong but level order to the others.

"Go."

Sensing no compromise in his voice as he began to head towards the Orcs, Kael nodded and reaffirmed his grip on Trixie.

"Thank you."

Trixie felt like she might not see the man, or his friend, again if this invasion of Orcs continued. This feeling that she was about to see a man go to his death made her stomach flip, and so she had trouble forming words, "Uhhh…" as Kael began to pull her away, Trixie finally managed to get out, "Don't die, okay?"

Reuenthal gave his trademark smirk caused by being in some negative situation as he prepared his weapon and began to aim it at the Orcs as the finally noticed their dead comrade and came to the conclusion that the armored soldier must be the cause, "Because the lady has asked so nicely, I will make sure to not perish in this unfortunate conflict. I only ask that she reciprocates."

The Hunter attempted to lunge at Trixie, who was closest to her at the time, only for Reuenthal to back handedly knock her down with the strength of a professional soldier. With no-one now in their way to go, Kael and Trixie ran as fast as they could to the designated point granted by Reuenthal.

Neither of them focused on what actually was inside the building, and while someone inside tried addressing their sudden entrance, neither paid them any mind as they scanned it for a damaged wall. The hole was located in the back left side of the room they were in, and they each gave a small apology as they began to find a way to make the hole bigger.

Trixie froze someone who tried to stop them with her first spell, only to then realize something: if she froze the structure around the small hole, she could perhaps shatter it with a strong enough strike. Her newest spell seemed to be one more geared towards damage than merely freezing, but she had not even performed it yet or learned its name.

Grabbing her book from the special rope harness she had made for it while Kael was asleep, Trixie opened right to the page she had left off on. Something about it all clicked in her mind as she looked over it this time, and so while she muttered first the spell to freeze the wall she quickly followed it up with her newest spell, roughly translated to "Ice Lance".

_"Gi'kor!"_

A large shard of blocky ice formed in the air before Trixie and flew directly where she was facing, crashing through the wall and breaking it enough to let them through. While feeling bad about damaging someone's property, she was more worried about her life.

* * *

The two escaped from the area with little difficulty after that point, and once they were a good few hundred feet into the lush forest they took a moment to stop and breathe.

Given their momentary pause, Trixie decided to clear some of the air about something very important.

"Kael, that guy in the city…he's…"

Trixie found herself cut off by her friend letting out a sudden, but stifled laugh.

"Now I'm wondering who is the imposter," Kael whispered, his green eyes closing as he thought about how quickly he had come across his counterpart. Was this chance or a result of the other Kael searching for him? He did not know, and he felt terrible he had to abandon his new friends because of how none of them wanted to find out.

While not entirely sure about the actual credibility of one Kael versus the other, Trixie was sure of something, and she was not going to let her companion despair over his identity crisis if she could say something about it.

"If Kael'thas Sunstrider was as good as we heard about, he wouldn't do what he just did. You're a good man, unlike that fiend, so you have to be the real one. Right?" Trixie forcefully told Kael, sounding as if she was demanding him to see things her way. In reality she was trying to convince herself as much as him, but in the end she didn't care if he was the legitimate leader or not. She befriended him when he was just a normal Elf who was kind enough to help her after all, so she didn't need anything more from him.

For his part, Kael felt guilty for involving his friend in such an issue which otherwise would not concern her, "You know, you do not have to continue traveling with me. I'm sure it makes things more difficult for you."

Taking a hand and bringing it to the top of her chest, Trixie began to boast as her other hand found its place on her hip, "I am the Great and Powerful Trixie. I accept any and all challenges, as I am not some common plebian incapable of surmounting them."

Kael did not want to point out how they just were forced to run from a challenge of sorts, and instead decided to focus on the loyalty being demonstrated to him. He was glad to have found someone willing to share in his hardships, even if she would not just go out and say it like that.

"That's twice I've offered you the chance to leave, yet you're still here."

Trixie scoffed, almost hurt that he sounded at all surprised, "Perhaps the third time will be the charm, but for now I think I will continue traveling with a prince who may one day bring me heaps of fame."

"Or infamy," Kael joked back, his mind trying hard not to think of the clash of metal and screams just barely audible in the distance.

"Details, details."

As soon as they had gained their powerful allies, they had seemingly lost them, and neither one would willingly address the issue right then and there.

Such was the world of Azeroth: for as grand and entertaining as things could be, a brutal reality sat below it all, one which Trixie found herself being forced to accept after that day's events.

* * *

_**A/N: I hope you enjoyed, and I hope to hear from you all in the reviews below!**_


	9. Rest Experience 2: Foalish Phrasing

**_A/N: _**_**I hope you all enjoy, and please leave your thoughts in the comments below!**_

* * *

The rush from Silvermoon to the nearby settlement known as Fairbreeze Village was brief, but it revealed something to Kael and Trixie they had not pondered previously. Outside the city and by the edge of the forest was a stretch of blackened land where bones lay strewn about, and a consultation with the map provided to them by Reuenthal named the place as "the Dead Scar". Fittingly named, it unnerved the two worried Elves as they looked back at it from the safety of the forest, though only Trixie mentally linked it to the invasion of the Scourge they had learned of. Kael was too preoccupied with thoughts of his alternate self to entertain such other thoughts, and so it was Trixie alone who was burdened by the thoughts of how that land once was where their fellow Elves were cut down and massacred by the dreadful undead.

Upon reaching Fairbreeze, which only really a two floored inn with some small structures by it, the two travelers considered what to do next. Reuenthal wanted them to keep fleeing, and there likely was some form of transportation from the area as a result of that fact, but that likelihood was extinguished by the lack of people to be seen there. It seemed that, given a glance to a nearby path, that the people of the settlement all had left to head to Silvermoon in seeming concern for what was happening there.

A more paragon part of Trixie wanted to warn those rushing to the city, but the rest of her kept her mouth shut. Drawing attention to herself and her companion could lead to both of them being in danger, and it was likely these Elves would turn back after hearing the clash of metal and battle in the city.

At least, that's what she told herself as she and Kael approached the inn. Only one person was to be found inside, a woman who appeared to be in charge of the establishment, and she greeted the two dryly before telling them that they were out of luck if they wanted a room or a ride since the Dragonhawk master had left to go help in the Silvermoon crisis.

"Are you sure there is nowhere we can sleep?"

At Trixie's attempt to plead the innkeeper paused and began to rethink the situation at Fairbreeze. After a moment she realized that one of her tenants had left at the first sound of danger, and likely would not be returning despite having paid his fees for the night.

Seeing as someone already paid for the room, the innkeeper granted it to them for free, and they both made haste upstairs as soon as they were granted permission to do so. The reason for the speed lay in their fortune in the area being deserted, which meant that if they hid right away that no-one would likely encounter them and thusly reveal their identity, which the innkeeper did not seem to be aware of given Kael's red mask and how it seemed to shroud his face well enough.

Mentally exhausted despite their short day, due in part to both their odd sleep schedule and the events of the previous hour, Kael made way to the bed provided to them and made his intention of sleeping clear by stretching out and yawning loudly.

"I am going to rest now. You should see about coming to be soon as well, Trixie, so that we may begin at tomorrow's early dawn freshly and leave at the most opportune moment. I do not wish to linger here for long lest that…man…come by and harass us."

Trixie nodded and, while just as tired for the same reasons, did not wish to sleep just yet. She, like Kael, was worried about the Kael from Outlands they had seen, and a part of her wanted to be awake just in case something came their way. The most likely time of conflict would be the next few hours, and she wouldn't mind forsaking that much rest if it meant being ready for those who would seek to hunt them.

Of course, her pride would not allow her to reveal this concern and care for Kael, who she was about to lose sleep over in an effort to protect them both, so she masked it with her reason for staying up later the night prior.

"Fine, rest now, I'll join you soon enough. I want to do at least a little more reading before I do so though."

Kael wasn't entirely sure he bought her words, but he did not care. Daylight was still shining outside, yet he felt an ache in his head he could not shake. He'd have likened it to the sensation of magic withdrawal he felt previously except for the fact that his mind was too focused on sleeping to notice.

So, Kael went to bed as Trixie opened up her book to a random page and began reciting words beyond her comprehension, providing a soft tune of sorts for the man to fall asleep to with her voice.

He could see himself falling asleep to that sound this night, the next night, and every night after. If the prince had not been distraught over recent events, he'd have actually considered himself happy by the full realization of his feelings concerning a particular awkward woman whose mannerisms were so out of this world that he couldn't help but be entertained and amused.

* * *

Kael fully expected to have at least two limbs hugged around him when he woke up early the next morning. Trixie was put off by everything just like he was, only from a different perspective, and so he had expected (and hoped) she would seek physical comfort that night by wrapping her arms around him.

So when Kael brought a hand to touch one of the limbs on top of him, he was surprised to feel that beneath the soft covers he was feeling fur. His groggy eyes batted open slowly as he ran his hand down the limb on top of his body until he reached one end, at which point his eyes shot open completely.

He had just touched a warm, furry being's chest. Not an Elf.

Kael removed the limb, which he soon found out was a leg, from on top of him and moved himself to better look at what was sleeping beside him.

He sat up and groaned as he realized that he was not, in fact, being cuddled by his companion of the past few days.

"Trixie, why is there a discolored horse in our bed?"

Beside him was a miniature horse, just at the size where one could comfortably ride, sleeping next to him in the large bed he and Trixie had been provided. Its fur was blue, just barely noticeable in the faint light creaking into the room from the early morning, and it reacted to his moving of its leg and hoof by stretching it back out and poking him with its soft foot.

Why was there a horse in his bed? Why wasn't Trixie responding? Had she left in the middle of the night and left this here as a prank?

Kael began to grow worried by the lack of response he was receiving, so he began to look around to room in the hope of finding Trixie laying somewhere as if she fell asleep in the wrong spot and this horse was just some random joke from the innkeeper, "Trixie?"

"Yeah, yeah, I can hear you, I'm trying to sleep…"

That made Kael's spine shiver. He thought he heard that from right beside him, and since he had not been looking he had not seen it, but…

Kael looked down at the horse and furrowed his brow, worried that it did perhaps respond to him, "Did you just…"

The horse, or rather pony given its size, let out a yawn before poking him again with a hoof as it stretched out in a sleep manner. It tried curling its head into its chest before placing the more emotive leg over its eyes.

"My head hurts and I didn't even drink last night…" it said with what was definitely Trixie's voice, only to then peek out through the leg it put over its eyes, "Where is this horse you speak of?"

Shocked and unsure about how to respond, Kael tried to find a rational explanation for this in his mind only to come up with none. The horse was talking. Talking with Trixie's voice as if it was her.

"…look at your hand."

The horse, which seemed to be Trixie given its responsiveness and voice, put its hoof lazily in front of its face again, "What's wrong with it?"

Kael did not even need to respond before the horse-Trixie yelped and jumped up suddenly, its movement nearly knocking Kael off the bed. He realized just as she did this that he was right on the edge, no doubt pushed there by the large being who also populated the bed, and struggled to keep himself from falling over completely as this pony-Trixie began looking itself over.

Its eyes were the same shade of purple as Trixie's eyes shone before, and its mane was actually an exact replica albeit bigger of how it had been as an Elf. The silver-blue mane was of course partially distorted by bed-hair, but it held the recognizable shape it had previously had, though none of this was of course any comfort to Trixie who began to panic at this sudden change, "What did you do to me? Why do I have a hoof!?"

Kael didn't like being accused, though he was just as baffled as she was by this. Why was she a horse now? "Don't look at me! I didn't expect to wake up with a horse next to me!"

Trixie stopped her panic just long enough to realize that she was glad she removed her clothes before going to bed sans her underwear, as the robes that lay at the end of the bed lazily would undoubtedly not fit her in this body. Her bra had come undone during the night at some point, and her underpants also were removed by her transformation. This fact was more embarrassing for Kael than it was Trixie, but she noted it all nonetheless as she sat with the covers draping over her back, "These clothes don't really fit me anymore. Just when I was getting used to wearing them…"

"I noticed," Kael noted as he turned his head away, not wanting to see anything scandalous because of this random event, even using the purple blanket they had been sleeping under to shield her from his view. After a moment of this, he took a peek at her face only to notice that something was sticking out from the top of it that he hadn't thought of before, "You're a Unicorn too! I'm glad you didn't gouge out my eye in the middle of the night!"

Trixie brought a hoof up to her head and touched the horn protruding from her head, only to realize the strong and pointed object was most certainly there, "Oh, that," realizing that Kael seemed even more put of by her change than her, and also not liking the feeling of being judged, Trixie pointed the horn at him, "Watch what you say or I'll do it now."

Kael held his hands up defensively, "Can we question why you are a horse now?"

"I don't know. Why are you an Elf?" Trixie retorted smarmily, finding herself more and more comfortable in this body with each passing second. It felt normal and natural, much unlike the feeling she had when waking up as an Elf.

"Seriously, Trixie. If someone transformed you we need to do something about it. We don't even know if you will return to your previous form."

Trixie shrugged, finding herself not all that worried as she thought more about it. This felt…right, "This actually feels kind of familiar…" she paused and smiled at Kael as a thought dawned on her, "What if this is my real body?"

That possibility had certainly crossed Kael's mind, and it put a lot of what she had done and said previously in context. Her word choice, her way of sitting on the ground, her impossibly high alcohol tolerance for someone of her constitution, her lack of regard for clothing…

"It would explain a few of your more eccentric qualities…" Kael admitted as he pondered the possibility. It didn't make the fact that he was at this point falling in love with her dorky, prideful personality any easier on his mind given the oddity of loving an animal. A part of him wasn't at all surprised actually, and he more he thought the faster the feeling faded from him.

How had he known? Did he somehow know her before the amnesia? If so, how?

Still, so little was known about this transformation that there was little reason to wonder as to why specific things made sense. The basics needed to be discovered, such as why the transformation occurred and why she was ever one form or the other. Furthermore, Kael doubted others would be as…understanding about a talking, sapient horse.

"Okay then, let us work with the logic that this is your true form. I do not believe others will take all that kindly to a talking horse. It will most definitely draw attention, and not the kind I think you would like."

That was something Trixie could agree with fully, and so she nodded slowly as she considered he ramifications of her supposedly new body, "Hmmph," taking a look down at herself and then at Kael, Trixie shrugged with her blue furred shoulders, "Well, what now?"

A sudden urge overtook Kael, who brought a hand out to touch the top of Trixie's equine chest. Moving the hand down slowly, he began to smile as he realized how soft she was.

As Kael's hand slowly moved to the place in-between her front leg and barrel he spoke with a voice full of mirth and amusement, "You're fuzzy."

Trixie was obviously not as amused by this, though she couldn't ignore the good feeling that the petting was drawing from her, "This isn't a petting zoo!" she felt a twitch in her lower right leg, which was the one next to her tormenter who dared to continue rubbing her side, "Kae-ae-llll..."

Her leg splayed out and bumped into Kael's legs as Trixie lost control of it, only to pull it back in and have it kick out again. She forcibly tried to stop it as Kael began to laugh while continuing the motion, Trixie's body tingling in a fashion she wasn't familiar with as her blue fur moved back and forth with his hand.

Kael was fully amused by the whole situation now, forgetting the implications of having feelings for a horse while observing Trixie's leg lose control like a dog's might under similar situations, "Did your leg just…"

"Stop it!" Trixie yelped before rolling over to her side in an attempt to free herself from his grip, as well as to stop the tingling feeling.

Kael held his hands up in surrender, allowing Trixie to escape from his touch even if she was the softest thing he remembered touching, "Okay, okay. Sorry, I just couldn't resist."

Trixie pulled all of her legs in close to her and gave him a pouting face while her eyes averted to the side, "It's okay, just don't do it again," after a moment she added quickly and softly, "Without my permission."

Things calmed down at that point given Trixie's lapse in speaking and Kael's own nervousness stemming from the situation as a whole now that he was no longer concerned with the benefits of a furred companion. If he went outside with a horse of an odd color, that would draw attention. If Trixie couldn't keep quiet like a normal horse, that'd draw much more. That's not to mention the lack of modesty Trixie would possess as a horse, which he doubted she would mind but it was making him nervous nonetheless.

He wanted to say to himself it was just concern for his companion's well-being, though he knew it was more selfish than that. The idea of strangers seeing her naked, even as an animal, irritated him…Kael would shake his head of those thoughts if it wouldn't make Trixie question his action, and so he quietly banished the ideas of Trixie's modesty in favor for the sour expression the equine had grown. For a large animal, she was quite expressive, and he found it easy to gauge her feelings based on the position of her muzzle and face.

"Trixie, what is wrong?" he paused as he realized how she might snark about the basic fact that she was a horse now, "Besides the obvious."

She pulled her hooves over her face in embarrassment and self-pity, trying to hide herself from view as the rest of her was covered by the purple blanket, "I'm a freak. How can I be famous or taken seriously if I'm just some animal?"

Doubtful about his crush being returned, and also unsure about how his feelings would change given her transformation, Kael decided to just be supportive/friendly, not anything more. He brought a hand to her shoulders and neck and began to stroke them gently, trying his best to not emulate the petting he was doing previously.

"We'll find a way around this. If you became an Elf once, or the reverse, there must be a way to undo this process."

Trixie's only verbal response was a pout, which Kael responded to with a sigh of his own. It was time to fully contemplate the issue, and that meant understanding how it may have come about.

"What were you doing last night?" Kael reasoned it was a good place to start. Perhaps something she had done caused the change?

That elicited a response from her, the mare stopping her soft sobbing to look at Kael and frown while her hooves moved to cross over one another on top of a pillow, "I was studying a new spell, mumbled some things, realized I wasn't getting anywhere still, slept, and then now," she paused as she tried to recollect the night, finding herself unable to remember anything else in her admittedly dark, "I think."

That was a start at least. If she had dabbled in magic and messed something up, it could explain her either going from a natural Elf to a horse or from a transformed Elf back to her original body of a horse.

Kael got himself up and moved towards a nearby dining table that had Trixie's blue book on it, right next to some plates, napkins, and a set of salt and pepper shakers, "Let me read your book."

Trixie burrowed herself under the covers while Kael took the book in hand, instantly finding what he believed to be the passage Trixie dabbled in.

"You were in the general spells section I take, given the napkin as a bookmark?" Kael smirked as he removed a napkin with what appeared to be butter stains on it. It seemed that there was butter and bread before on the table, which Trixie must have polished off in her study session the night before.

"Yes…" Trixie grumbled, not really caring about the bookmark as she wallowed in self-pity. How could she be a magician if they wasn't even a person?

Kael narrowed his eyes as he observed the glyphs on the text, "Polymorph," he smiled as he realized what the page's relevance was. The spell was either a perfect coincidence or the specific cause for the transformation, though something made Kael believe it to be the latter, "This spell doesn't usually last more than a couple seconds it says, or a minute if you really know what you're doing."

"Well what does it do?"

"It morphs the target into an animal of some kind. The example given here is that of a sheep," Kael smirked as he pointed the book at her, "You're a different kind of furred animal it seems."

That made Trixie poke her head out again for a moment of snark, partly to impose a reality check and partly to bring him down to her level of existential misery, "You're a furred animal too, just one who walks on two legs instead of four."

"That's…" Kael tried to retort, only to find that he couldn't find a good reason behind what he was going to say. He could say that Elves are smarter than animals, but the intelligence argument alone would not allow for the difference seemingly between them and animals like Trixie which seemed quite sapient despite not being bipedal animals, and while Kael wasn't quite sure he knew of others he felt like there very well may be, "Well, I suppose you could be right. What does separate one from an animal?"

"This isn't the time for philosophy Kael, fix me!"

Kael forcibly closed the book as he bent back in laughter. Trixie meant it as in fix her ailment, but there was a very different meaning for the word "fix" when it came to animals. Her obliviousness to this fact made it better for him, and as she spoke his laughter increased.

"What? What is so funny?"

Kael calmed himself to focus back on the task at hand. They needed to leave as soon as they possibly could, but finding a solution to Trixie's problem first would make things easier for them later. Right now they might be able to replicate whatever made her change forms, something they might not be able to under different circumstances on the road.

"Oh, nothing, nothing at all," Kael lied as he opened the book again and resumed reading right from where he left off, luckily turning right back to the main page concerning Polymorph.

Trixie pointed her Unicorn horn at him threateningly, "Then find a way to get me back to what you consider normal or I'll make you as horny as I am."

Little did she know that it would then send him into an entirely new laughing fit. In her mind, she seemed to be thinking her words meant she would impale him with her horn, but to Kael it brought up a very different subject which once again distracted him from studying her book for a cure.

Of course, Trixie did not appreciate being laughed at in any way, so she found herself flustered as she once again levied her hollow threat, "I mean it! I'll put this in you if you don't stop laughing at me!"

Not fully willing to test her temperament but also not believing she would go through with the action, Kael stopped his childish laughter and resumed studying the blue book, "Okay, okay…It seems hitting the afflicted person can reverse the process. Causing some form of pain."

"Oh…" just the thought of that made Trixie wince, "How much pain?"

Kael still doubted that this was related to this spell based on the duration she was in either form, but it was worth a try…even if it meant hurting her to undo the possible effect she was under, "It's not specific, so I guess we would have to test it out."

Trixie moved a hoof outside of the warmth of the blankets and held it out towards Kael while looking in a different direction, away from where she would soon experience pain, "Pinch me."

Kael relented and moved the short distance required to pinch Trixie's hoof, his fingers tightening their grip slowly until she flinched in pain. No change occurred, which either meant she was previously polymorphed for an exorbitantly long amount of time into an Elf and that her real form was a pony or that this was not a matter dealing with polymorphing at all.

Trixie looked down to where she had been pinched, then down to her body, and she was not pleased with the lack of change. She had hoped to be an Elf again, not caring what was her true form so long as she could just be considered normal.

"That didn't give me that oddly shaped body that's so top heavy. Try something harder," she commanded, her voice serious as she decided mentally that perhaps Kael had just not hurt her enough to change anything.

Kael felt his snickering on the verge of coming back, "Harder?"

"Yes, harder Kael!" she barked back, only for Kael to hang his head and sigh. She was either really clueless or a really efficient prankster, because Kael's mind was going places he did not want it to.

"I think we need to have a discussion about your word usage later."

Trixie did not care for her phrasing, she cared about becoming a two legged Elf again, "Can you just do this faster? I don't want to be an Equestrian all day. I don't like people making fun of me, and they most certainly will."

"I think I'll get it worse for having a horse sleep in my room."

Trixie, once again, did not understand the implications, "Where else would it sleep? Out in the cold?"

Ignoring her, Kael pulled his arm back to prepare a punch, "Well, here it goes."

To catch her off guard and inflict the maximum amount of pain without doing real damage though, Kael instead forced her outstretched hoof down and into the firm bedframe with his other hand and arm. This switch up did allow for pain to be inflicted, so much so that Trixie pulled her hoof back in and causing her to begin licking it where hurt and where she believed herself to have a splinter.

"Oww, I wasn't ready for that! You need to be more gentle with a lady, Kael. Now try again, but softer," after the pain in her hoof went away, Trixie held it back out while denying the possibility that this still wouldn't work, "I'm ready for you to touch me."

This, mentally, was the last straw for her companion who in that moment gave up on her ability to not say embarrassing things.

"Forgive her Elune, for she knows not what she says," Kael whispered to the goddess he believed to have heard Trixie pray to, despite it not ringing a bell for him as a goddess she should be praying to. It felt like it belonged to something else, but his tired and distracted brain couldn't explain the details to him.

Trixie in turn tried to correct him, believing him to be the one who was wrong and silly, "I think you mean Luna," the look of confusion on Kael's face in turn made Trixie confused, as she couldn't explain her knowledge about this so called Luna but it felt intuitive, "Luna…the one who moves the moon every night and makes sure we don't have nightmares. You haven't heard of her?"

Despite being confused, Kael still was pleasantly surprised by what Trixie said. Anything regarding memories was welcome between the two of them, and so this was quite the opportunity, "No, I can't say I have," he waved his hand around to prod her to continue, "I think though that perhaps you are beginning to remember things without even realizing them. Tell me more of your mythology."

Trixie tried to let her mouth keep talking without her brain interfering, doing it as if by muscle memory, "Luna's sister is named Celestia and she controls the sun, and…" this didn't carry her very far as the moment of revelation left her as soon as it came, leaving her with some vague feelings and ideas. In frustration she shook her head when she realized that the fountain of knowledge had forsaken her, "That's it. I think there's a god of mischief or something in there too, but I can't say for certain."

Her suddenly having entire memory back would be convenient, but Kael was by no means expecting it to actually happen. Piece by piece would be fine, "Well I think that is enough for now. You've only had a few days to remember after all," he spoke supportively, not wanting Trixie to feel as if he was rushing her. This tangent expended, it was about time to return to the topic at hand…or hoof, as the case may be. After all, it may be the early hours of the morning, but every minute could end up being one they need in the end, "Now, I am thinking that perhaps you aren't polymorphed since you aren't changing back. That means this is your normal form if that is the case, or that you aren't polymorphed. Do you remember anything more about last night?"

Trixie decided to relax herself on the bed, stealing Kael's pillow to act as a substitute for him which she then placed her hooves around. She was exhausted, and she wanted to be at least rested if she was not to get any more actual sleep for the time being, "Well, I woke up at one point and sneezed. I think I hit my head against the back, then fell asleep again."

"Fell asleep or were knocked out?" Kael the ever blunt inquisitor asked her, only to be rebuffed by a scoff.

"I, the great and powerful Trixie, would not knock herself out by sneezing!"

By trial and error, Kael could only really think of one last thing to try out on Trixie. With a glance to the table, he smirked in a way Reuenthal would be proud of given how it was a smile of realization that he might end up in some trouble.

"Let's try something else then."

Kael grabbed the pepper shaker off the table and moved to join Trixie on the bed. He fought to get on top of the pillow Trixie took from his side, and this done he held the device over her resting head.

Having noticed him get back up on the bed, Trixie cracked an eye open to look at what was hovering above her head, "What is that?"

"Pepper. It's time to engage in a little science."

Trixie blinked as she rolled over just in time for Kael to sprinkle some pepper over her face, "Sci-ah-ah-achooo!"

Her sneeze was like an explosion in how it rocked her head back forcibly and with a great deal of noise. When she was done with the powerful sneeze, Trixie narrowed her eyes at Kael and groaned.

"Jerk."

Half on top of her and half beside her, Kael did his best to bow to her, "I hope you don't hate me for it, my Elven friend."

Trixie looked down at herself to find soft skin and no blue fur in sight except for a strand here or there on the purple sheets, "What the Hel?" Trixie ran her hands over herself to feel the change, only to realize that she was once again an Elf in every way, shape, and form, "How in Tartarus did you do that?"

"Science requires multiple tests. Time to try this again," Kael said as he proved his theory. For whatever reason, one he hoped to discover through study one day, sneezing instigated her transformation.

To make absolutely sure though, of course he had to try again.

Trixie tried to grab the pepper container, only to catch another dose of the seasoning in the face, "Wait, I'm good now—"

Trixie found herself instantly a horse again, noticing that a purple flash happened at just the same moment she closed her eyes to sneeze. It seemed to be her color, given her eyes and now this.

A horse once again, Trixie glowered at her companion who seemed to be having the time of his life having solved this issue, "I hate you."

Kael moved to put the pepper in his pocket, seeing it as a useful method of controlling Trixie's body transformations. So pleased by his discoveries, he forgot that he left her in her equine form, "I think we should take this pepper with us."

Trixie sneezed again from the leftover pepper, at which point she used one arm to pull the blanket around herself and the other to start grabbing at Kael's hand where the pepper lay.

"Give it to me!"

Kael would have just considered it playful, and the way her voice was yelling was more in faux anger than real anger. She was embarrassed, but she was happy to have this under control. They could deal with the ramifications of her being a horse person now that they could control it all.

But Trixie had rolled to be on top of him, with only Kael's ruined clothing and a blanket in-between them. Not only this, in her attempt to grab at the pepper shaker Trixie had ended up straddling him, causing the color to drain from his face as he tried to keep the shaker out of her reach. Given the way he forced her to inhale it, he had little doubt she would abuse and waste it on his own face at some point should he let her have it.

Not that Kael would be much better, but he'd rather not have her waste their one easy way of snapping her between forms in some ill form of revenge.

"Trixie, stop it!" Kael commanded harshly as she continued to try and fight for the pepper. Every movement though made him less worried about the pepper and more worried about another rising issue.

"I said give it to me! I'm not some toy for your amusement!" Trixie commanded back before sticking her tongue out at him.

"It's not that, you're—"

With a sigh, Kael just let go of the pepper and let Trixie take it. This done, she smiled to herself as she stopped moving around on top of him.

"There, all better."

Realizing that one of her hands was still on the blanket surrounding her, Trixie looked back to find that her clothes still rested at the end of the bed. This made her blush as she realized that perhaps, by Kael's standards, she had been quite indecent. Being an equine though freed her from some of the care about such standards, yet she still wanted to maintain a decent enough appearance. It wouldn't do to get into bad habits here.

"Oh, I should probably put those back on."

Kael could not agree more, though he tried his best not to move, "Trixie, please, get off me."

Trixie rolled her eyes as she moved over to where her clothes were so she could start the process of putting them on again, "Okay, I'll get off. Don't see what the big deal was that made you so bothered."

Free of his unwitting tormentor, Kael whispered to himself, "How am I ever going to survive like this…"

"Also, I think you wound up with a stick in your pants last night when we were going through the woods. I need to change, so you should fix your wood issue."

Kael let his body fall completely prone on the bed, not even knowing what to say back to that.

"I promise I won't look," Kael finally said after Trixie took her clothes and the purple blanket with her, the woman leaving to a corner of the room which he diverted his gaze from completely, "Aren't you worried at all about what happened yesterday? About…"

Her response was surprisingly somber, her voice even quaking as she tried to muster the words to convey her feelings, "I would…I rather…not think about that."

Her voice gave Kael pause, and a quick glance at her revealed that she had already managed to pull all her clothes on in what must be record time. Her head was lowered though, and Kael could see her struggling to not cry.

"I don't want to think that friends have passed away so soon after meeting them. I want to think that somehow they're fine. That the people in the city are fine."

Trixie turned back to him with watering eyes, her mouth curled up in a sad smile.

"Can't I have that?"

All the playful energy in the amnesiac prince present moments ago was replaced with the despair that some of the only people they knew may be dead. Dead because of an evil version of Kael himself, who may even be the true prince. They could play around and kid themselves, but nothing would change the reality of their situation.

Kael rose from the bed to approach Trixie, who didn't move away from him as he approached. She was actually hurt by the loss, and pain was etched onto her face behind her fake smile.

Not caring if it came off as more than platonic, Kael brought Trixie in for a hug and let her rest her head against his chest and shoulder, "Of course you may," he brought a consoling hand down her back just like he had in her other form, but despite the gesture he made sure to not let this distract them from their goal which Reuenthal and Mitter'meyer bought possibly with their lives, "However, we still need to worry about our own safety. I am grateful that…man didn't follow us with his forces, but we don't know if he will return and do so. We should get as far away from here as we can for the time being."

No response came other than a feeling of wetness welling on his shirt, to which Kael spoke again in concern.

"Trixie?"

It was one thing to almost lose her own life her first day in Azeroth. It was another to lose someone else, "They're okay, right?"

"I…I can't promise that."

The uncertainty of his statement led to Trixie's mind wandering to other sorts of possibilities and what ifs, all of which she found amusing in comparison to the current topic, "I wonder what they'd have thought if I sneezed when we were eating..."

Kael did not even know what to say to cheer her up, but he was glad he was with her. If she was alone she undoubtedly would be far more devastated by the possible loss, "Trixie…"

Trixie released herself and stepped away so she could have space to shake her head and gather herself. After a moment she clenched her fists and took a deep breath in, at which point she turned back to face him with a more genuine, determined smile, "Let's get going. I don't want to waste any time."

That was more like the Trixie Kael found himself falling for, though he couldn't deny that part of her charm was that she was most definitely gentler than most of the other people to be found in Azeroth. She seemed to work on an entirely different level, even shunning common violence in favor of kindness and cunning.

Before Kael could get out of his own thoughts Trixie moved over to the bed with a big smirk on her face, her hands gripping the purple material, "Wait…I have an idea…"

What did she have on her mind this time? It wasn't as if they had bags to carry such a large cloth after all…

* * *

**_A/N: Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed the fluff-fest to counterbalance the angst of last chapter. In any case, please leave your thoughts in the comments below, and know that your reviews are what helps me write so much! _**


	10. Level 9-10: The Mile High Club

**_A/N: _I hope you all enjoy, and I hope to hear from all of you in the reviews below! The more I hear from you, the faster I can update for you all!  
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* * *

Kael found himself carrying everything, including the now folded up purple sheet, as Trixie approached the only other Elves awake in the early morning at the settlement. Kael would have liked to stay and talk with some of the people around, but he was the one more worried about leaving so he silenced his inner curiosity. This seemed like a good place for one to launch one's journey from, and he was sad to be leaving it behind.

Trixie, however, was quite ready to not be dealing with other people. She was still rattled a bit by transforming back and forth from a furred creature to an Elf, as well as what that meant about herself. It wasn't just Kael now questioning who he was, for Trixie now was worried that perhaps she wasn't like every other Elf either.

Well, of course she wasn't, she was The Great and Powerful Trixie and far better than all the other plebeians (facts be damned), but that was beside the point.

Two women stood outside the inn chatting with one another in hushed voices when Trixie exited it with Kael in tow. It was fortunate for the two magicians that his face was covered completely by the large blanket folded and sitting atop his arms, though it almost made him fall off the spiral staircase they had to go down to meet the others who were awake.

"Excuse me, we are looking to travel and escape the drama in this area. May you find us a vehicle or pack animal to aid us on our journey?"

One of the women, whose features Trixie could not make out due to a combination to their full armor and the darkness, rose a hand in response. Their words however were a combination of sadness and apology.

"I am the flightmaster here, but I am afraid I have but one Dragonhawk left, and its flightpath is limited to the point of uselessness. The elder, more trained ones perished yesterday as we attempted to combat the Fel Horde."

Fel Horde…Trixie assumed that they meant the Orcs, though the lack of mention of Kael'thas was good. If they didn't have Kael'thas on the mind, perhaps they wouldn't pay much attention to the handsome Elf she had carrying her things in addition to his own. She'd feel guilty if not for the fact that she was doing the talking in this journey for the most part, so for things to be equal he needed to pull a different kind of weight.

So long as it did not go north, Trixie didn't really care where the Dragonhawk went. She assumed it to be the orange-yellow being floating beside the woman who spoke, the beast previously having been perched on the ground and thus not noticed by Trixie in the darkness. Its faintly glowing eyes reminded Trixie much of its owner's own pair, and from there Trixie could observe a very impressive beast. Its serpentlike body stretched on to be as long as she expected a full grown (not miniature, like herself) horse to be, with an impressive wingspan beside it that had been hidden before when it was curled up on the ground.

Still determined to leave her starting zone for the safety of her friend, Trixie decided to ignore the 'uselessness' of the Dragonhawk.

"Where will it take us?"

Despite wearing armor over her face, the Elf's eyes shined out of the helmet and Trixie could make out the expression of a glower as they stared down at their animal, "It only knows Alliance lands, such as Westfall, Elwynn Forest, and Duskwood. We were allies with the Humans when we began its training, and there has not been time in recent months to retrain it."

Alliance? That meant the Humans from what Trixie could recall about what she had learned up to that point. It seemed the lore of the land would come a piece at a time. Humans didn't like Elves…but she didn't need to actually be around the Humans. She just needed to not be here. She could travel there with Kael and lay low until they could figure out enough to not get him executed for treason or something of the like. Perhaps get him a haircut and make him grow a goatee.

Trixie found herself wondering about what Kael would look like with a blonde goatee, and perhaps a moustache as well. Heck, she even felt like she had seem something similar before, but couldn't put a picture to the thought about why.

It took one of the other women clearing their throat to rouse Trixie from her thoughts of Kael and facial hair.

"Very well, which of these regions has the least dangerous foes?"

"Elwynn forest, but it is directly adjacent to the Human capital, so Westfall is the safest…" the Flightmaster was baffled. Someone wanted to go to Human territory? Were they unintelligent or a traitor? "You would adventure to such a dangerous area?"

"A breathe of fresh air," Trixie countered as she brought a hand back to point at her partner, "We can manage."

On a normal day, the Flightmaster would laugh off such a request, but it wasn't as if she cared that much about why someone would be so foolish. She had lost all of her pets and companions sans one a day prior to a brutal Orcish attack, and she had the misfortune of only being able to save and heal one of them…the most worthless one. She'd be busy training a whole new batch of others to replace those lost, and in the meantime this one would just distract her from her efforts with the others.

It did not mean she wanted to lose it, but she wouldn't be as hurt if it didn't come back like some of her others. For this reason, along with apathy, she waved a hand and sighed as she ushered the beast towards Trixie, "The Dragonhawk will bring you to the edge of that territory then. You will have to find passage to wherever you want to go after that."

That was enough. Trixie didn't have a destination in mind other than 'not here', so it could drop them off literally wherever and she would be fine, "Of course."

Kael would protest about going into enemy territory if not for the fact that staying in allied territory could mean he would be lynched from citizens, hunted by the military, hunted by his double, hunted by that forsaken Hunter who seemed to want his head for a bounty, or other situations in which his wellbeing would be put at risk. At least he could be around enemies and expect nothing but the worst, while he could no longer trust anyone outside of Trixie, Mitter'meyer, his wife, and Reuenthal…should any of them be alive.

It was then that the other woman spoke up finally, her voice full of cheer as she took the role of an oily salesman, "You two will be needing to travel quite some ways to return. You will need to have ground mounts should you desire to do so swiftly."

Trixie could tell that she was about to be offered something to buy, so she quickly found a way around revealing she had no money, "I do not believe we can transport horses over…" she waved a hand at the Dragonhawk, "That."

This did little to deter the opportunistic woman, "Oh, of course not, but a magician powerful enough can summon one with the right training, and dispirit it the same way. I sell such magic and training, as well as Hawkstriders for you to ride upon."

Oh great, a Stablemaster or something of the like Trixie surmised. Just what she needed to think about…

She diverted her mind from horse thoughts to the unfamiliar word used by the saleswoman/stablemaster, "Hawkstriders?"

It was their turn to do show and tell, and so the woman pointed to the edge of the settlement where a crowd of two legged animals with round, feathered bodies stood. Their necks were long as were their legs, giving Trixie the impression that these were like mountable Ostriches, "Just as fast as a horse, while taking up less space. Much more graceful beings than those Human owned beasts."

Not exactly proud of her other self, yet still feeling insulted, Trixie balked at the statement and crossed her arms angrily.

"I will have you know that equines are not simple beasts, but beautiful, intelligent creatures!"

This outburst actually caught the two other women off-guard, though it came Kael a moment to clear his throat. He was passive and would let Trixie take the lead, but he wasn't about to let her use her speaking role to possible alienate the group that was about to let them take a ride out of this place.

Realizing this, Trixie steeled herself and took a breathe in to calm down. They were simpletons who didn't know better…they had no idea that she was a horse, so they can't be expected to be polite when speaking about the mount of an opposed race…

"Sorry. I am…fond of horses. Particularly ponies."

Her explanation for her behavior not only explained a cause for her reaction, but also turned the surprised duo into a pair of laughing friends. They used eachother to stand up as the Flightmaster fought to maintain a composed look despite snickering, while the Stablemaster took to a fit of laughter.

"Hah, I bet you wanna go and marry some prince too and live in a big ol' castle!" she bent down as she realized just how stereotypically feminine a statement had been said, "Seriously, how old are you?"

"I…" Trixie realized she couldn't back away from her previous statement, as well as that she had no idea what her own age was. She appeared younger than almost all the women she had come across, though she didn't feel like a child. A young adult?

She shook her head to remove the line of thinking. It didn't matter. She was independent, and she was doing this no matter what. She could do what she wanted, and she wasn't going to let people laugh at her! "That doesn't matter! And so what if I believe myself worthy of a prince? My private life is not of your concern. I only wish to leave this place before anything else crazy happens."

Kael wanted to cough again and point out that he was a prince, and he might have had he been alone with Trixie, but he kept quiet because of the company they held.

The Flightmaster jabbed a thumb over at the Dragonhawk, which had been patiently hovering above the ground next to them the entire conversation without going anywhere, "Yeah, yeah. Normally I'd charge gold for a ride, but we're supposed to do the trips around here for nothing. Since the guy who collects the gold is dead now, I'll let this one go for free."

Free was good, especially since Trixie hadn't even considered the fact that she might need money. Money she didn't have in any capacity…and totally hadn't been planning to borrow from Mitter'meyer until everything went to Hel at Silvermoon.

"Thank you. Now, how do I ride this thing?"

"Just climb on the saddle it is wearing," the woman's apathy continued to show as she gave a bored yawn, "I'm not supposed to let people go two at a time, but have fun. The guy who does the safety regulations has an axe in his neck right not, so he's not going to argue."

Trixie wanted to be thankful that she had the opportunity for a free ride away, but even she could realize that expressing any joy at the circumstances was too soon…

* * *

It took some time, but eventually both Kael and Trixie found a way to strap themselves in to the Dragonhawk's seat worn on its back…the solution being Trixie sitting on top of Kael, and the securing methods going over here. This of course made things awkward for Kael, but the issue was helped by Trixie falling asleep almost instantly after taking flight.

Her falling asleep despite the up and down of the Dragonhawk's movement was because of a combination of both her tiredness and her sudden realization that she didn't want to look down at the ground they were flying dozens if not hundreds of feet over.

Her sleeping made Kael more, but not completely, comfortable for the ride because it meant she stopped shifting around and being a general nuisance. Truth be told, he too was afraid of heights he realized once they actually were taken off the ground, though he steeled himself to be awake for the ride. It wouldn't do if he fell asleep too and they both fell off the blasted beast which was flying way too high for his tastes.

He took to looking at the map provided to them by Reuenthal previously, and to his delight it actually had some detail. The map seemed to display an explored area, with the words "The Deadmines" wrote on the lower section of the area they were headed to known as "Westfall". Westfall was basically on the exact opposite side of the continent, being in the south west (as its name partially implied) while Silvermoon City was in the north eastern area called "Everson Woods", with Fairbreeze Village slightly to its south.

Kael knew he should take more care and mentally look over what he passed over more, but in the end he only managed to spare glimpses of what was below him. Some of the land about halfway through the long flight was ground that appeared blackened, much like the "Dead Scar" Reuenthal had made note of by Silvermoon. Skeletal beings with varying levels of flesh roamed the land, and Kael could see some of them even engaging in what appeared to be civilization, but by the time he took more note of the situation it was gone.

Further down he flew over a mountain in a region he believed to be known as the "Burning Steppes", though at that point some of Trixie's sleeping movements drew his attention. She had begun to wake up, though was not quite there yet, and so she was constantly shifting around after what Kael realized was a full day's flight. The night was already setting, and they had set out right when the day started. Why couldn't a flight like this take five or less minutes, he pondered, curious as to why no-one had come up with a better method of transportation yet. It took some restraint, and by some it was really a godly amount, but he managed to not disturb Trixie's sleep in any manner while also making sure she didn't start rolling off the creature.

When she did wake up though they were just passing the edge of what Kael realized with the help of the map to be "Stormwind City", a large, sprawling structure that looked like an extended castle or keep. And when she woke up, she first yawned and then next gave Kael a near heart attack.

She took breath in through her nose and moved to cover it with one of her delicate hands.

Realizing that she was about to sneeze, Kael brought a hand over her face and squeezed her nose. This was not the time for her to transform, and given that they were a few hundred feet in the air Kael did not want to try out the "slow fall" spell he had looked at briefly in his own book over the flight, along with others like "Fireball", when not perusing the map. Anything to keep himself from looking down at the ground.

"Don't do it," Kael warned, though the groggy Trixie couldn't really comprehend his words just yet.

"Ahhh…" she slowly started, her voice modified because of her tightly clenched nose.

The fact that even though he was closing her nasal passage, admittedly hard enough to hurt because they were in danger, Kael realized that she was still about to sneeze.

"Trixie, we will die. Don't you dare."

Trixie's head moved back as her body prepared to sneeze forcefully, "Ahhhhhhhh…."

Her head moving back made her hit Kael in his nose, causing him to curse loudly as he reached to grab his aching nose. This freed Trixie's head of his clasp though, at which point Trixie let out a big breath.

"Phew," she rubbed her crunched nose with one hand, "See? I'm fine—chooo!"

Her sneeze was followed by a purple flash, and Kael felt the buckle binding them snap instantly. Realizing that this would be the case though, Kael wrapped his legs tightly around the Dragonhawk right before her sneeze to clench it and keep hold, while his arms did the same to Trixie. Her body shifted forms and nearly forced his arms apart, but fortunately she was not big enough for him to not reach all the way around. The Dragonhawk squawked with its beak at the sudden change in weight for its passengers, and it began to plummet the moment Trixie's weight crashed down on its back.

Trixie flailed with her front hooves for a bit before seizing up entirely and curling up as much as possible in fear. With her having no hands to do what was necessary, Kael was forced to grab the best grip he could with one hand on her while using the other to pull out something he stole from the inn earlier from his bag.

"Pepper!" he shouted as he shoved it between Trixie's hooves, not being able to reach her face on his own and not thinking in the moment to just wave it upwards. Trixie fortunately managed to clench it between her front hooves as they continued to plummet downward while the Dragonhawk fought to stay up in the air.

Trixie shoved the pepper container in front of her nose and shook it as violently as she could. It took not a moment more for her to sneeze, and suddenly the descent ended as the Dragonhawk finally managed to go upwards instead of downwards.

The flight leveled out after a few moments, though the seemingly exhausted Dragonhawk began to angle itself at landing down at a nearby shore. Neither Kael nor Trixie could blame it, especially after all of the flying from the day, and so they let it touch down. Even after it gently landed though they stayed on top just a minute longer, each of the anxiety filled Elves nearly hyperventilating from how close they had come to dying.

Kael had looked. There had been about ten feet left until they hit the ground when they finally went up. Trixie had still been in her sitting position despite the change in form, and while this did not make her unable to look down it did help her decide to just look forward during the fall.

It took a little while, but Trixie realized something: first, her robes were loosened after stretching suddenly and by a bit. Second, and more importantly, Kael was still gripping part of her tightly. She did not know much about Elven customs, but she had not seen any males grabbing females there, so she could presume in addition to making her uncomfortable that it was also taboo.

"Kael, I don't think you should be grabbing there."

"Sorry, but…" Kael blushed as he removed his hand from her torso. She hadn't exactly had all of herself in the same places when he grabbed ahold of her, and he hadn't really noticed the change when he tried to calm himself down.

Trixie felt her face flushing red, but she tried to ignore it. Why was she tingling? This body was surely weird…

"It's okay. If you didn't grab me I'd have fallen off and died. Just forget about it."

Kael could agree to that, being quite embarrassed that he hadn't thought ahead. Wanting to move on, he decided to bring up another subject, "That was too close…I don't think we should ride these such lengthy distances in the future."

Trixie couldn't help but feel as if it was all her fault, which in many ways it was, though it wasn't something she could help yet, "Sorry…"

Kael brought a hand to her exposed shoulder, its purple robe hanging slightly off it just to the side of her, "It's fine…" with his other hand he brought it to her hip and began to help her off the Dragonhawk, "We were at the end anyways."

Trixie's legs just began to wake up from her long sleep and so she stumbled a bit as she got off the creature, Kael following suit at a faster pace since he had already been awake and had been moving his legs back and forth to find better ways to not penetrate Trixie's sleep. Once both of them were off of it, the Dragonhawk squawked again and then took flight, seemingly not caring to hang around them any longer.

"That, or it just wants to get rid of us," Trixie snorted. She decided she was not very fond of the animals, since her back really hurt and she was sticky with sweat because of the sudden adrenaline rush. Sure, she caused it, but if it was a better mount it wouldn't be a problem. Why couldn't she just ride a dragon or something more…suitable for a mare?

"The map seems to show that this is the right place…I think we're good."

Trixie snatched the map from him, her mind too jittery to be polite, "Let me see."

It didn't take her long to find the same spot on the gigantic map Kael had been gripping tightly on the flight. The continent was shaped like a jigsaw, messed up rectangle of sorts that was larger in height than it was width.

While Trixie began to study it, Kael excused himself to wash himself with the nearby seawater. Yes, he knew it would smell bad later, but he needed to get his filthy robes cleaned before they moved on any further. He did not even know how he managed to ignore them up to this point, especially with that torturous ride he just was on. Trixie took no notice as he completely emerged himself and them into the water, for which he was grateful.

Moving her gaze up the map, Trixie continued to not notice his absence at her side, even going so far as to reach back and try to grab his arm to get his attention before just calling out his name and explaining why.

"Let's conquer Stormwind!"

Stormwind. Human capital city. If Kael didn't feel so good for the first time since he woke up, he would have scoffed in an abrasive manner instead of a joking one.

"As if."

Trixie glanced back towards him, only to notice him in the water with his clothes floating a few feet away, and so she looked back down to the map. Then she shot her eyes back to find that all their other stuff was safe on shore and not soaking alongside her friend, and so she regained some of her calmness as she continued to explain her insane plan, "It can't be that hard. Elves have magic, but I bet not all Humans do. We get strong enough to fight, get about forty people, approach them from the port the map says they are building, attack from a landing ship by coming around at sea, and then tadaa, Human peons! Then we own both ends of a continent, and everyone in-between will be pincered and eventually be forced to serve our greatness."

"Where do we get these forty people? And why forty?" Kael laughed as he relaxed in the waters, "Trixie."

For that she had no real answer, so she repeated her previous statement as if on loop, "…We get strong enough to fight, get about forty people—"

By this point Kael began pulling on his soaked, yet no longer grime infused, clothes, and as he did so he started to leave the water and head for Trixie (after his pants were of course secure).

"Enough of that nonsense, we have bigger matters to handle," when he got to Trixie his tattered and dripping wet shirt was slung over his shoulder. He reached over her far shoulder to point down at the map with a finger he knew to be dry, "This map actually has detailed notes from Reuenthal, so I take it he has been here before. There are Human farms all over this region, and he marked the coastline with X's and the word Murgle…" he paused as he thought about what that actually meant, only to come up with a complete blank, "What in the Sunwell is a Murgle?"

Trixie tried pronouncing the word down on the page, though she had some difficulty reading it because of her newness to the language, "Mrglegle?"

"No, I think you only say it with one gle," Kael corrected, only for Trixie to shove the map in her robes chest compartment, it being her largest "pocket", and then pointing towards the flat plains that lay away from the shore.

"Murgle-murgle-murgle, I don't care, let's just find a place to camp."

Kael paused as his eyes caught Trixie staring at his bare chest. He hadn't intended to give her eye candy, but he supposed the muscle and tone could be seen as impressive. He did nothing to deter her gaze, though after a moment she removed it. What was she thinking while looking at him? He did not know, but a large part of him really cared to know.

To break the silence Kael thought best to bring up something that had been on his mind the past few hours, albeit in the back of it, "I don't know about you, but I'm hungry."

Trixie scoffed at the mention of food even as her stomach began to rumble audibly, "What are you going to do, ask the Humans?"

"Well, the date on the map seems to be after Humans turned on our kind, yet he took notes of the region. My bet is that the Humans here are either more friendly or that there is a population of Elves not associated with our kind that look similar enough that he was mistaken for one. It also might be helped that he is half-Human."

As soon as Kael finished his explanation about how it might be possible for them to acquire food Trixie's stomach spoke up again, this time loud enough for the man to laugh at her expense once more.

"…you want bread?" Kael snickered, his gaze falling to her stomach.

Trixie brought a hand over her gut, not really liking that her skinny body felt so hungry. She knew the reason for it though, not that it helped matters at all, "I am eating for two after all."

Once again, her word choice brought some confusion to Kael, "Two being…"

Trixie crossed her arms angrily, suddenly beginning to pout as the morning's revelation came to mind, "Myself and my other, much larger stomach! Don't make me say it out loud."

Oh. She meant her horse stomach. That was better than what Kael was thinking.

He voiced exactly this sentiment as relief washed over him like the water had before, "Better than what I was thinking. I was going to question how it was possible, since we've had our clothes on, though there were times I was passed out…"

Trixie's confused glance made him realize that once more this was all going over her head, and he would rather keep it that way, so Kael tried to change the subject again.

He pointed a finger in a way that the map showed to be south, "But onto the matter at hand, _or rather hoof_, how about we head this way until we find someone who's awake and willing to take us in? If not, they are only farmers. We can just run away with the speed of a horse."

His statement made Trixie apprehensive, given the assumption the statement had, "Wait, you don't intend to…"

Kael patted Trixie on the shoulder as he laughed, "Oh I fully do, though you may draw some attention…"

It only made sense that they would use her transforming quality to its logical advantage. As a horse she could move faster than they could on foot, and it would keep Kael's own legs fresh. She could also likely carry things better than he could, so with the right setup it made perfect sense for him to ride her as they traveled. She might think it mean or unfair, but the way he saw it she could carry things now, and he would later provide servants to carry things for her…given that he was, after all, a prince it seemed. Not to mention that he had just been forced to make sure nothing fell off during the entire flight, which was quite the task, and he was glad he had been provided a bag for the blanket before the trip by the Flightmaster.

Trixie kept up her façade of anger, not wanting to admit that it made sense and instead trying to find an issue with whatever she could, "Draw some attention? There must be a million horses. In this one instance I am not one in a million."

"You're blue," Kael retorted snarkily, already knowing he had won the conversation before it really began. Trixie could be haughty and on occasion obnoxious, but she could tell what made sense and what didn't, and she'd give in to reason if he pressed enough against her stubbornness.

"And able to talk, yet you don't seem to be minding that part," Trixie noted, given that a talking horse was most certainly an uncommon one. Even if she was strange, she still was at least unique. There was no chance that there were more like her, or at least enough to really matter since her being a small horse was most certainly out of place in this setting.

"You're a Unicorn too," Kael smiled, now bringing a hand up to pat Trixie's flat forehead. There would be a horn there if she transformed, though Kael began to wonder what it would be like to see her with the horn in this form. It certainly was a sleeping hazard, so perhaps they could find a solution to it. For now though he would sleep with his head at the other side of the bed, just in case she changed forms in the middle of the night again.

"Why yes, I am, at least some of the time…" Trixie grumbled, not seeing the use for the horn. What was she to do, stab people with it? That was disgusting. Imagine what it would feel like to have a sharp horn pierce your body! Trixie internally groaned at the idea of having a horn go through her.

Seeing as Trixie had admitted to her other form's features, Kael was ready to hit her with his solution to their transportation method, "So…"

Despite everything Trixie did not want to just go and let him make this point. Sure, it made sense, but she wasn't just some pack animal. She turned around to face him and shot him a frightening glare, "Don't you dare say it."

Kael wondered if he had a problem, or if it was just a thing, because he found her angry, pouting face to be adorable, "Oh come now Trixie, buying the official training and registration for using a mount is expensive it sounds like, and I'd bet purchasing one is just as expensive. At least this way, with you being my mount, we both can travel far quicker than we otherwise would be able to without paying twice the hefty fee!"

"Hmmph," Trixie spun around and crossed her arms again. It took a moment, but she couldn't argue with him. They weren't rolling in cash, and she could be trusted not to buck him off…provided he behaved while on top of her, "But call me that one more time and you won't be mounting anything for the rest of your life."

"So you'll do it?"

The response was a mumble, bringing both exasperation and amusement to Kael. Her stubbornness was cute, but it also was time consuming, time that could be spent consuming food, which he hadn't eaten all day or the night before.

"Trixie, would you rather walk around all night and not get any food, or would you rather take advantage of this blessing while we can and eat some warm bread?"

She gave in finally at the promise of warm bread, "It's better than having to bring around a horse wherever we go, even if I do have to do all the work…"

Trixie took the pepper and used just enough to make herself sneeze, transforming her into a horse instantly. Kael got his first real good look at her as an equine, seeing as the other times had seen her had been while she was under the covers or falling to their shared death, and he was quite pleased with what he saw. She was big enough to carry him and her stuff, but she wasn't very big at all. She was a pony, not a real horse, and she was adorable. Her mane was even in the same shape her hair normally took, that of a curve all to one side with a lot hanging down in the back as well, and it even was the same color. Her blue fur also felt soft he remembered from when he grabbed her, and he really just wanted to pet her.

Was it alright to want to pet the person you have emotional feelings for? Was it alright if they also happened to be a horse? Was it okay to like a horse? She was also an Elf…though Kael had a gut feeling her real body was the four legged one.

It took a little bit of work, but Kael managed to set up the giant purple blanket from the inn to act as a skirt and cape all around Trixie. Others might think it odd to dress a horse in such a way, but it covered more of her than she otherwise would have covered, and though Trixie didn't care much for modesty (being, as Kael thought, a natural pony), Kael didn't want others looking at her in a scandalous way…or other horses to do so either.

Once she was covered, Kael got on top of her with their remaining stuff. With him straddling her with his legs, Trixie grunted. She was officially a pack animal, "One joke though about riding me and your dynasty ends here."

Kael couldn't tell if she meant riding or…riding, but her expected the former given who it was, though he wasn't entirely sure.

"Challenge accepted, but no promises," he laughed as he thought about the possibility of her following through with her threat, and the obvious side-effects that would have, "I wouldn't want you regretting anything later," he whispered afterwards.

Trixie heard him, though she wasn't sure if she heard him right, "What?"

"Nothing, lets get going!"

Trixie refused to move before she decided to do so, and so she looked back at Kael as he moved his arms to get a grip around her neck. The feeling around her throat felt weird, but she ignored it as she glowered at him, "You're loving this, aren't you?"

"You carrying everything, including me? Yes, I would say I am loving just about everything."

Trixie scoffed as she began to begin her trot. It felt both weird and natural as she moved, and she was at least comfortable in the night air because of the purple sheet covering her, with her actual clothes now stored where the blanket had been kept, "At least I thought ahead about the blanket…"

"Carrying that thing was tiring all these hours, but I think it's worth it for your own modesty," Kael admitted before sliding off her and readjusting it. His first knot around her neck had been poor, so he had to fix it lest the makeshift skirt-cape fly off with the breeze instead of cover her down to her mid-leg.

"Just mount me and get it over with already. You better not make me late to eating."

"Trixie…" Kael sighed as she once again failed to grasp the connotations of her language. Did she not grow up with a parent to tell her what she was saying?

"This better be a short trip. Seriously, I hope it doesn't take long for you to get off—"

Kael actually grabbed the top and bottom of her muzzle to force it shut, not sure if he could keep himself calm if she kept spouting so many (hopefully) accidental innuendos, "Just be quiet and trot."

"Don't you dare kick my side like they do in movies."

"What's a movie?"

"I…don't know. Ignore that."

* * *

It took a half hour of wandering around the plains, but the duo eventually were met with the nice sight of civilization when they saw a farm that had lights on in its house. Before approaching it Trixie transformed back into her Elven body and joined Kael in sneaking around to what they thought to be the side so they could peer in.

Plan: see if they were nice, and hopefully then test their kindness by knocking on the door and seeing if they would be invited in. If they were chased away with pitchforks, fine, they would call it a night and possibly loot some food from the mean farmers later. If they weren't chased away, that was a good thing, and they would be grateful guests…and not steal any blankets and pepper this time.

While preparing to peer into the window of the wide house, a man walked out of a door they hadn't noticed yet and turned right to them. He hadn't been coming outside to see them apparently as he seemed surprised at the sight of them, though he didn't run away or take any hostile action. Instead he gave them a bright smile as he lifted up a lantern to shine light on the area they were creeping.

"Welcome, my High Elven friends! I am Farmer Saldean. What brings you to our farm this day?"

Trixie stood up quickly to hide how scared she was, and she launched directly into conversation to prevent Kael from speaking. If they spoke at the same time they would seem awkward or suspicious since she doubted they would say the same thing.

"We are adventurers who are simply passing through when we noticed the lights."

The farmer, Saldean, nodded as he continued to smile politely at them, "Oh, of course! We get visitors now and again, but they are usually from Stormwind. The Defias bandits around here usually scare away anyone else."

Kael rose an eyebrow as he lowered the red scarf off his face and onto his neck. He probably looked like a bandit with it on he reckoned, so taking it off was likely prudent, "You have a bandit issue?"

"Yes, though they have begun to quiet down the past couple years," the farmer looked as if he was about to sigh as he looked around the darkness for a moment, but he changed it instead into a smile again as he gestured to the open door of his home, "But that's neither here nor there. Why don't you two join us for the night? I would hate to let two visitors to our home stay out in the cold, especially since you don't know who sneaks around in the dark these days!"

Seeing as how things went perfectly, Trixie was not about to test her luck, and so she instantly accepted. She didn't know what the heck a High Elf was, and neither did Kael, but she'd pretend to be one if it got her food and a bed. She bowed while introducing herself back, "Thank you for the generous offer. I am Trixie Lulamoon, and this is my companion Kael'thas."

Kael bowed right after Trixie introduced him, though he was worried that perhaps the Human would know his name's importance…though the lack of instant reaction to it made his fears dissapitate. Good. He wasn't in danger.

Trixie made her way inside, but before Kael could follow suit a noise caught his attention.

"Mrglmrg—!"

"Shhhh!" came a forced whisper as the other, much more odd noise disappeared. Things went silent after that, causing Kael to turn to the farmer who still was standing there out of politeness for his new guest.

"What was that?" Kael asked, not sure what that was, but it sounded like the noise sketched on the map.

The farmer finally frowned and shook his head, "Some of the—" he stopped complaining as his eyes caught sight of something out in the field by the farmhouse, "Oh, Hope! It's about time to come in for supper. I was just about to go looking for you!"

Kael turned around to find himself suddenly face to face with a teenage girl wearing a grey shirt and skirt with white going down the front of the skirt and also showing from her undershirt. Her hair was lengthy and hung over one side of her face, though it curled about three quarters down her face and was not completely straight.

When had she gotten right beside him? Kael hadn't noticed a thing, and that crept him out despite the kind smile on her face.

The farmer grinned as light shone off his own bald head, one of his hands extended out towards the new arrival, "This is my daughter, Hope. She's pretty independent for a teenager, but she always comes back home right when we want her to."

Her voice was a bit rough for a child, but Kael could tell that she was definitely in her teenage years overall. Firstly, she wasn't as tall as she might otherwise be, and secondly…well he wouldn't process the second part due to her age. He really ought not to think about a young girl that way, especially since he had the clueless Trixie to ogle to his heart's content.

"You shouldn't wear red bandanas around here, sir. Some might get the wrong idea," she suggested as she gestured to what lay around his neck, though as soon as she said this she had moved on and gone inside like Trixie had.

Her father laughed and gave Kael a comforting pat on the shoulder, "Oh don't mind her. How about we go inside and join our loved ones?"

Kael blushed at the assumption made, given that it was quite correct, "You are too kind, sir."

"You can just call me William, though if you insist on being polite Mr. Saldean will do! We welcome all to our home so long as they are in need of it, so feel free to stay as long as you like!"

After a moment, the farmer turned back to the field and nodded towards it.

"I am a farmer though, and there's always work to do, so any help you might be able to give me and those around here would be most welcome."

Kael bowed to the man once again before they both went inside, "I will do everything I can to repay your kindness, sir."

Perhaps…well, perhaps not all Humans were terrible after all.

Neither Trixie nor Kael knew much about the conflict between the Horde and the Alliance, but for now they were grateful they had a place to stay. They were as far as they could get away from where they had been, for sadly before they had even grown comfortable in their own land they were forced from it.

Luckily, no-one knew who they were outside of two allies, and what were the chances the Outlands Kael'thas could locate the one following Trixie now?

They entered the humble farm thinking these reasonable things.

* * *

_**Author's Note: For readers of We Remember Everything, Trixie was thinking Fandral when she was thinking of Kael with facial hair.**_

_**Thank you for reading, and please leave your thoughts in the reviews below!**_

**l**

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	11. Level 11: Watching Those Hips

****_A/N: Special thanks to Futureshock for your review last chapter! The more I hear from you guys, the more inspired I am, so do know it is appreciated!  
_****

**Anyone who gets the name references in this chapter without looking them up are awesome. Also, anyone who knows who Hope Saldean is, good for you too.**

**I hope you all enjoy, and please leave your thoughts in the reviews below!**

* * *

When Trixie entered the house she was met with the sight of a large open room with a staircase to the side that led to a second floor. A red carpet lined the floor, and in general the room felt more rough than the Elven rooms she had been in until that point. The reason for this stemmed from how, while the house was in no way scary or uncomfortable, it was patched together at various parts where what appeared to be years old damage lay. If it was a chair the house would have a single shoddy leg that was pieced back together while the rest was slightly worn.

A middle aged woman with a plain white shirt underneath a soft brown overshirt was busy working in what appeared to be a small kitchen on the side of the large room that comprised the entire first floor. After Trixie came in the woman turned around to smile at the newcomer.

"Hello. My name is Salma, and I guess you've met my husband. Have you come to stay the night?" the woman asked kindly, her face displaying a gentleness and kindness Trixie had not really encountered up until that point amongst the more serious Elves.

Trixie had only come in a few feet before she found herself bowing before her new hostess, "If you would not mind. We are passing through and have very little."

Salma chuckled at the sight of someone bowing, the farmer's wife not used to having such overly polite guests, "Of course not! We will take anyone in who needs help. You can even stay as long as you like, if you don't mind helping us around here."

"You are too kind. I am Trixie Lulamoon. My partner and I are traveling magicians who are still studying, so meals and a place to stay are most welcome."

It wasn't too much of a lie, and Trixie didn't want to explain to the nice lady that they were runaways from an enemy nation who may or may not be pursued by an evil doppelganger.

"Well, why don't you have a seat at our table? We are just about to have supper after all, and I always make sure we have enough for some guests."

Trixie noticed a whoosh of air as someone swept past her and up the room's staircase before she could even turn to look at who it was. She doubted that the farmer she could still hear talking to Kael outside was the culprit, so who was this third person?

"Who was that?" Trixie asked Salma with a forcefully curious voice, when in reality she was more inquisitorial out of fear. What she didn't know at this point could definitely hurt her.

Salma shook her head as she finished preparing the food she had in the kitchen, "Oh, that was our daughter, Hope. She is shy around company usually, so I suppose I'll have to save her something to eat."

Satisfied with this answer and no longer fearing the unknown person, Trixie let herself relax as Kael and Salma's husband came inside the farmhouse. The farmer moved to kiss his wife on the cheek before taking a seat at the head of the room's large table. This done, Salma turned to see Kael and gave him the same smile she had given Trixie.

"This must be your friend. Please, have a seat with your dearie while I serve everyone."

Food once again on the brain, Trixie took a breath in through her nose and she realized quite quickly that there was some fresh bread. She dragged Kael over to some seats across from their host as his wife brought over the plates of food to the table. Kael would have offered to help, but he had been dragged out of helping range just at the moment she would have needed it.

The food placed down, Salma tilted her head up towards the upper floor and in the direction of the staircase, "Katz, bring your brother and sister down for supper!"

Some scuffling upstairs followed the call, and after a semi-loud "Owww!" a flurry of footsteps came flooding down the staircase and three young kids stood where none were before.

The kids seemed surprised to see the two guests, and in true childish fashion one of them gawked, one of them hid behind the gawker, and the last one just stared at them all confused.

Salma sighed at their behavior, though she wasn't all that surprised at their reactions, "Children, introduce yourselves to our new guests. This is Trixie and Kael Lulamoon, and they will be here for the night."

The one who had been confused was a very young boy in a green shirt and who had black hair to contrast his light skin, and he was the first to recover from the initial shock of visitors who looked funny, "I'm Katz!"

The one hiding was seemingly the youngest, looking to be no older than four, also introduced herself with a mumbled "Kikka" as she hid behind the last kid. Trixie would have laughed at the shyness if not for the fact it would be rude, and she had more tact than that…though just barely.

The last one, another young boy wearing suspenders and with darker skin than the other two, helped push Kikka out from behind him as he introduced himself too, "And I'm Letz."

Now exposed, Kikka brought her arms behind her back as she struggled to look Trixie and Kael in the eyes, "Why do your eyes glow?"

Salma was about to chastise the child for rudely interrogating their new guest, but Trixie's amused laughter cut her off.

"It's because of our powerful magic," she was bluffing completely, but it made sense to her so she would go with it. Having done the initial bluff, Trixie continued on with her previous white lie with enough force to hint to Kael that this was what they were going with, "We are magicians after all."

"Woah, awesome!" both Katz and Letz exclaimed at the same time, though a look from their "mother" sent them into a frenzy to take their seats on the sides of the table. It was obvious to both Trixie and Kael that all of these children were adopted by the couple as none of them held any resemblance to the farmers.

"Perhaps you can give us a look at your skills tomorrow morning. I'm sure the children would love it," the head of the household mentioned as he took his wife's hand in his own, his other hand wrapping around Letz's as the boy sat down.

Trixie continued to do the speaking for the "traveling magicians" so as to make sure Kael wouldn't trip up on anything she had said yet, "Of course. It would be our pleasure."

With that, Mr. Saldean nodded to her and gave a calm smile. Something he knew about magic was that even basic magicians could conjure food, so these two visitors were most likely the very greenest of novices. While the lady seemed a bit overconfident in her skills or at least boastful, the man seemed to know his place more, though in the end it didn't matter so long as they could pull their weight somehow.

"Now, everyone, let's take hands and say prayer," the farmer announced, leading Letz to take his younger sister's hand who in turn nervously held a hand out to Trixie. Trixie smiled down to the young girl as she gently took the hand, using her other hand to wrap around Kael's and squeeze it. Across the table Salma took Katz's hand and her husband's while Trixie leaned in slightly towards Kael.

"What's a prayer?" she whispered as softly as possible to her partner. The word wasn't ringing a bell and she didn't want to be rude and not partake.

Kael wanted to respond and explain what a prayer was, but the family began to give a chant related to "the Light" that Trixie and Kael were forced to just smile and nod to the words.

Trixie made a mental note of researching this "Light" and finding out what the heck it was, but for the moment she wasn't going to ruin a good meal over such an insignificant matter.

* * *

The two had slept in one of the three bedrooms of the house, previously belonging to Hope but the eldest of the children had cleared out her things for the guests while they all ate.

Trixie still hadn't gotten the chance to meet the elusive elder daughter, though she didn't really feel the need to after getting a belly full of bread. Unlike the feast Evangelin had put together in the prosperous Silvermoon City, the Saldean family had much more meager means of getting by. Trixie actually only managed to half-stuff herself before she realized how there would be no follow up plates of food to replace the originals. She was a guest to a rural farm, not a paying patron to a well off inn, so not only would eating an exorbitant amount of food be rude, it would be depriving everyone else of what little there was to eat.

"Rise and shine everyone!"

The sun was just rising when Kael jolted awake from the sound of Farmer Saldean loudly projecting from downstairs. From the sounds of it there seemed to be a routine, one which Kael decided he would obey for the purpose of fostering good will. Sleeping through such a thing could cause the kind farmer to consider him lazy.

Still, this did not cause him to enjoy the act of getting up. He rubbed his eyes as he lifted his body off the bed and complained quietly, "Who wakes up at this ungodly hour?"

He didn't notice a hoof slip off of being on top of him as he got up, so when no response came from Trixie Kael found himself surprised to turn and see that she was in her equine body.

"Trixie? You slept all of yesterday, how can you possibly be tired still?"

Trixie had her face buried into the pillow, the pointy horn atop her head only not having impaled the pillow beneath her blue coated face because she was very still in her sleep. Trixie's only movement after Kael left the bed was to roll onto her back, her front legs withdrawn and close to her chest with the upper parts under the covers while right at the bottom they poked out and sat above the blanket provided.

She wasn't all that big of a horse, luckily. If that could be considered a lucky thing given that she was still a horse. She must have sneezed at some point of the night while he was asleep, or there could always be an alternate method to her transformation…

Kael smirked as he sat back down on the bed and brushed a hand across her blue cheek. When she wasn't being haughty and was this serene she was quite adorable. Her long ear twitched at his touch, though she made no further movement as Kael removed his hand.

"I guess we'll talk about it another time. You had better be alright."

All this sleeping could have to do with her alternate form, but they had not solved the mystery that was her transformation yet. It could always be something more, and that worried the more reserved of the two partners. Trixie didn't seem to want to really solve the puzzle since she wasn't searching for a solution despite it being her body, which left him to do all the caring.

As he stood again a small murmur left Trixie's lips that brought him to stop in place.

"Kael…"

That got his attention. Was she waking up? Her eyes were still closed, and she wasn't moving.

"Yes?" he questioned her as a kind of test for the sleeping or not question.

Of course, the soft breathing helped with the theory that she was still asleep as she then murmured quietly, "…bread…"

That was confirmation that Trixie was either asleep or hungry, but perhaps both, "Even in your sleep? Did you grow up only on starch?"

"…Luna…"

Kael shook his head in defeat. She was still asleep, because she would have retorted or complained if she was awake. It had been some time since the wake up call had been uttered anyways, so he really ought to go catch up with the stampede of footsteps he could hear outside as the free former orphans made their way downstairs. Kael had been watching Trixie sleep long enough anyways, and he doubted he could wake her if she slept through the yelling.

"I am just going to assume there is a connection between those words. Have a good rest."

One more thing caught his eye though as he began to leave: a mark on Trixie's hip. Her blue fur wasn't fully covered because of how he moved the blanket when he got up, and the peaceful mare in bed wasn't conscious enough to move it back. As such, Kael got a good view of what appeared to be a tattoo of a wand and a moon in a different color blue than her normal coat of fur. A horse with a tattoo visible despite her fur? Looking at her gave him a new surprise every day it seemed…

"A tattoo…huh," one of a wand no less. Coincidence or a sign? "No wonder you think being a magician is your thing…"

When he got downstairs Kael noticed that everyone was in similar seats to the night before, though this time he noticed three empty chairs: presumably one for him, one for Trixie, and one for the missing Hope.

As Kael smiled to all of the others the Farmer smiled back at him and spoke first, "Is your wife coming down for breakfast?"

Kael didn't want to lie, so he gave a version of the truth that would stall them long enough likely to keep them from checking on Trixie and noticing her…more surprising side. In retrospect Kael realized he should have forced her to sneeze before leaving, since there was still a chance her secret would get out, "Trixie has an odder sleep schedule than most, while my own is more amorphous."

Kael still hated being up, but he did not want to appear to be some upper class twit who could not adapt to his surroundings.

From her seat Kikka waved a hand wildly to get Salma's attention, "Mommy, I heard a horse last night. Is there a pretty pony outside?"

Salma looked to Kael for the answer, though the Elf continued to use words in a way that would keep him from lying to his gracious hosts, "I assure you that I brought no horse."

It was true in a way: he brought an Elf who had the ability to turn into a horse. He brought an Elf.

"Sorry, Kikka," Kael apologized, feeling partly bad at how she seemed dejected by this news. She must have really wanted to see a horse. To carry the topic off of the horse sleeping upstairs Kael turned to face the farmer and bring up a topic from the night before, "So, you mentioned that you would like help around the farm. However may I lend my aid to you?"

Saldean sighed as the family all began to eat, Kael making sure to eat as little as possible like he had the night before to not impose upon them, "Well, times are tough, my brother. With the downtrodden masses of Stormwind migrating into Westfall, resources are stretched as thin as they've ever been. The people are restless and in need of help."

That alone gave Kael a good idea on what the situation was around here. The human capital city likely was overpopulated and was forcing some of its people to leave, and given Westfall's close location to the capital it was an easy location to move to.

This, however, was countered by the previous mention of bandits. Bandits who must plague the farmers in one way or another or else things would not be so rough.

"Our own farmhouse has been serving as a halfway house for years. Salma does the best that she can to keep our guests alive, but sometimes the watchers get 'em…"

Saldean's voice trailed off as he realized Kael didn't understand what he was talking about. The farmer gestured to a window that was facing the fields, from where Kael was able to peer through and see that there were large machines roaming the fields at a slow pace. They were brown in color and appeared to be bulky or even overweight scarecrows with glowing red eyes. What made these golems scary though was the nasty talons they had in place of more gentle hands. Some even had bloodstains on the cloth that covered their metal bodies, proof of their murdering ways.

Watchers are those twisted abominations roaming my fields - a little present left behind by the Defias, before they were driven off."

The Defias…if Kael could recall, those were the bandits mentioned the night before. So even now, while driven off, the Defias were a nuisance to the land? Whoever had wronged them so to make them want to harass simple farmers? It wasn't even as if Westfall seemed like anything important…

Still, the mentality of a pack of thieves was not of his concern. Helping the farmers who were harmed by them was, and it seemed the way to do that would be destroying the machines outside.

Kael snapped his fingers and created a small flicker of flame to show off a bit of his power. He could do more, but that would require actual work, and this was enough to impress the children gathered at the table, "I possess fire magic. I can melt the machines if you so please."

The farmer nodded to him in agreement and grew a smile where had previously been a depressed frown, "Melted Watchers are better than people-killing ones, and we can use the resources from them to trade and for our community. I am not much of a fighter, so I would be most grateful if you helped us clear them out."

This would be perfect for Kael: not only would it allow him to practice his offensive magic, it also would let him prove his worth to the family so kind to take them in and not murder them during their sleep.

"It will give me an opportunity to practice, as well as earn my keep. I would be glad to lend my skills."

* * *

It took some time for Trixie to wake up, but when she did she was quite glad that their bag with their pepper was still in the room. It was weird waking up as a horse, especially since she did not remember sneezing at all at the time she went to bed…could someone sneeze in their sleep? She had never seen it happen, at least not with her limited memories, so perhaps that was the issue.

A forced sneeze later, Trixie prepared herself to go downstairs. She was grateful that her equine body was not that of a full sized horse, for all she seemed to do when she changed bodies was push off her robes rather than rip through them. It would be embarrassing if she was left with nothing to wear, since she still did not have a spare set with her.

She also was a fair bit taller than the oldest woman in the house, Salma Saldean, so borrowing clothes was not really an option. That wasn't even mentioning how Trixie was half the other woman's size in terms of weight, not that Salma appeared overweight. Trixie was just skinny for an Elf, exaggerated by her height, and humans seemed to possess a thicker build than Elves as a whole. While Kael was quite fit and broader than the average male Elf, he was still slimmer than the farmer as yet another comparison.

Take the height of an Elf and some of the broadness of the Human and you receive someone as imposing as Reuenthal…though his eyes were definitely more scary with their different colored glows than his physique. Trixie would hate to get on his bad side, and actually kind of pitied anyone seeking to kill him.

He was just one of many people she would have to catch up to if she ever desired to make a name for herself.

Trixie didn't really care that her robe's neck piece was stretched enough to hang at the edge of her shoulder, but when she went downstairs Salma noticed. Salma was going about some chores when Trixie stumbled down the stairs and let out a large yawn, earning a chuckle from the elder woman who was quite amused at the sight.

"Good morning. What have I missed?" Trixie groggily asked Salma, not even noticing the three children who were across the large room with their heads peeking outside the door.

Salma lowered a cleaning rag onto her kitchen counter as she turned to face their guest, "Nothing too much. I'm sorry, but I did not have anything more than bread to save you. I hope it is enough."

That woke Trixie up in a hurry, her long ears standing up as straight as they could at the mention of her favorite food group: delicious bread.

"Bread is just perfect!"

Trixie thanked her hostess as she was given a small plate of bread rolls, which Trixie took to the dining table and prepared herself to eat with the unused utensils left there.

"Oh bread, how I love thee. I just had a dream about you along those lines," Trixie laughed to herself about her sleep the night before. No nightmares, just fluffy goodness and happy thoughts. And a lot of bread and assorted things she liked as much and more, though she was having trouble recalling the dreams. She just knew that they were good, and that she wanted to dream like that every night because she felt very well rested.

Salma snorted at the mention of Trixie dreaming about food. She had been quite hungry before, but she couldn't remember once dreaming about eating, "No wonder you were hungry."

"I eat like a horse. My apologies for my diet in advance," Trixie sheepishly admitted after quickly downing the entire plate of food, though she did manage to hide the truth in what would sound like a simile.

Salma nodded and winked at the other woman, having a wholly different idea in her mind as to how and why such a skinny being could eat so much, "Oh, I remember what it was like for my friends to eat for two back when they were all newly married."

That gave Trixie a laugh. Married? To who? As if she would be married!

Once she calmed her laughter Trixie shook her head, "I doubt I'll be getting married anytime soon. Definitely not in this chapter of my life."

"Oh, you're not married to Kael'thas?" it was a legitimate question born of actual confusion and not some kind of joke. The odds that two random travelers of opposite sex going around, shared a last name, didn't look alike, slept in the same bed comfortably, and were affectionate towards one another while NOT being married or at least lovers was quite slim. In fact, the idea was completely perplexing to Salma, who had seen people for years and years come through Westfall and never once could think of something so...unusual.

Luckily for her, Trixie realized how this might look given what these people were likely thinking, and she instantly began to backtrack.

"Well…" Trixie cleared her throat. Kael was just her companion and good friend…though she had to admit he was quite enjoyable to be around. And, if she were to be married, she could do worse than a kind man who was smart, reasonable, and was possibly a prince. Still, she had to find a way to spin this so as to calm the confusion of Salma. It wouldn't do to have the family ask too many questions and find out that they were really not whatever these High Elves were supposed to be, "We are partners, and we share our lives wholly, so why bother getting married?"

Salma nodded, though her eyes glanced over Trixie's stomach regardless. No noticeable bump lay there, so perhaps Trixie wasn't carrying a child like she had thought at first, "I see. Well, your companion is quite the good man. He's outside right now cleaning up the farm."

That elicited another fit of laughter from Trixie, though this one was less like a cackle than the other.

"Cleaning? Kael? Have you met him?"

Trixie's clothes may be nearly ripped, but Kael's were in tatters ever since she met him, and their condition only worsened with every passing day.

Salma frowned and thought over the condition her guests had come in. Neither seemed particularly well off, and their level of dishevelment was something she'd expect more of Stormwind's poor than two High Elven mages, "Oh, yes, about that, I noticed that all of your clothing is damaged…" she moved across the room to bring a hand to pat a pile of what appeared to be linen cloth, "I hope you do not mind, but I was thinking about tailoring you some new clothes to wear. Yours appear to have been stretched almost to the point of ripping and are quite loose, and his are in tatters."

Trixie blushed at the offer, "Our apologies for being so bedraggled. We have not had money or time to acquire new clothing yet."

"Oh it is no problem at all. It is funny to find High Elves who are anything less than snobbish, perfect looking beings though."

So even their appearance was a give away? Perhaps, Trixie thought to herself, they could just give their hosts a version of the truth to cover any such issues?

Trixie would tell Kael later about her plan to cover their stories, "To be honest, I am suffering from a bit of amnesia, as is Kael, so I don't remember all that much about High Elves as a whole…"

"Oh, I am afraid I do not know much about them other than how they look. Even then I doubt I could tell the difference between them and that other Elf group the…Blood Elves? Was that it?"

Trixie was glad Salma was looking at the cloth and sewing materials nearby it, because a chill went down the magician's spine at that. The sound of some screaming outside did nothing to make the chilled feeling leave her. She hadn't been caught in her lies, but it sure felt like that.

She was forced to play dumb in response, "I believe so."

"In any case, I think perhaps you should go out and help him. He sounds like he could use it."

Trixie turned her head to where the three former orphans were all poking their heads out, finally realizing their presence and noticing that perhaps they were looking at something interesting.

"Help him?" Trixie questioned just as a yell of pain reached her ears, "Is that what that screaming is?"

"Yes, he agreed to help with our mechanical menace problem…" Salma peered out a window and frowned at what she saw, "I think his clothes are going to need to be tossed entirely."

Trixie threw down the napkin she had been using to eat her meal and stood up quickly. Apparently Kael was in some kind of fight, one it sounded like he was having trouble with solo, "Oh dear. I think I have a dear friend in need. Sorry, I promise I'll clean up when I'm back inside!"

"Don't worry about it," Salma reassured, not blaming Trixie for her urgency.

Trixie excused herself as she pushed the door outside open and forced the three children out of her way, partly sorry but also more worried about Kael being physically harmed than the feelings of three children.

The sight she was greeted with was one which caused exasperation rather than concern in her though: Kael was running in circles from what appeared to be a giant scarecrow with claws for hands. Well, more than one giant Scarecrow, actually. Three were in hot pursuit of him as Farmer Saldean stood to the side stalling another with a long rake. The casualness demonstrated by the owner of the property showed that he was used to this, but the way Kael had pulled the attention of multiple of the machines seemed to indicate that he was not quite so used to handling such a matter.

"Kael, stop your foalishness at once! They're just metal buckets!" Trixie shouted at him, not caring for the humiliation he was earning them both with this display. One of the machines chasing him had burn marks on its torso as well as its metal face, metal and cloth burnt to reveal some of its inner cogs and machinery.

The sight interested Trixie, but she ignored her inquisitive side to instead focus on how to solve this whole issue. The crop field was filled with such machines, though only these three seemed to have noticed Kael, with a fourth causing Saldean grief. That meant they had a pretty low range of sight or sensory systems or whatever, which made the fact that Kael had pulled multiple all the more embarrassing.

One of the undamaged machines chasing Kael heard Trixie's insult and turned to face her, causing the magician to take a step back into the three children gathered behind her.

"Taunt registered. New target detected. New objective: Eliminating secondary target."

Trixie rose an eyebrow. They could register speech like that? They were better built than she expected, "Taunt? Eliminating—?"

It lunged at Trixie, though its thick metal legs were not built for speed thus allowing Trixie to shout out a spell in time, "Gi'kor!"

A lance of ice burst forth and impaled the mechanical contraption, though the ice was not deep. This slowed the machine down enough for Trixie to start running to the side and it began to give chase, albeit at a lumbering pace. She did not want it to charge her while there were people behind her, and she doubted that the Saldeans had expected the machines to get that close to the house.

A burst of fire ripped into the machine's back, dealing far more damage because of the difference in elements, and so the previously taunted machine turned to face its previous threat…who was no longer in sight.

Trixie had to dodge out of the way of a sliding Kael, who had taken the machine's moment of confusion to slip past it and fire another attack on it from below. One of the machines pursuing him collided with its brother machine that was both on fire and chilled, leaving one still in pursuit for the time being.

Trixie helped Kael to his feet and prepared another spell, an icy blue aura forming around her hand with purple tinges to it. Kael did the same with his hand currently not held by Trixie, only his was red from the flames building up in his palm.

He began to say something, but the long reach of the still pursuing Harvest Watcher managed to slash down his chest and give him an abdomen-long wound that cut right through his already damaged clothes.

Trixie used the close proximity of the machine to fire off her attack accurately into its neck, which had the effect of covering it in ice all around the head and neck region but did not stop it from taking another swipe at Kael, who had lost the magic gathered in his palm and was brought to his knees at the damage he received.

Kael was knocked onto his back from the second hit of mechanical talons and Trixie found herself assaulted too by the sweeping motion, the remaining strength of the strike making her stumble to the side just as she finished channeling her spell again.

The impact hit and pierced straight through the frozen material, making the Harvest Watcher crumble onto the ground as its head unit fell off and the top part of its chest exploded as the systems within it went haywire. She was forced to jump to the side to get away from its falling form, though she yelped as she tripped over Kael.

On the soft soil of the field Trixie found herself breathing heavily and actually in pain: these things were way too tough for either one of them, which meant that each of them was lucky to have the other. Perhaps Kael had not been so wrong to run at first…and even then he had taken time from his own evasion to help her combat the one who came at her.

Then she tripped over the poor bleeding man. That made her feel kind of bad, since he was letting out pained noises. The damage he sustained had not seemed deep, but she was quite sure it hurt like Hel, and someone tripping over your wound couldn't help matters at all.

"Oh wow, I thought they were just scary scarecrows…" Trixie complained to herself

Even in a world of pain Kael managed to wisecrack at her statement, "Redundant much?"

Her sympathy for him burned out the moment it conflicted with her pride, "Shut up you foalishly foalish foal."

Trixie moved off of him and started to get up and rearrange her own damaged robes now that they had a series of lines cut horizontally through them. As she tended to her own egomania Kael began to pick himself up too, still laughing despite the pain because of her speaking pattern. Where could she have picked up such eccentricities?

"Speaking of redundant, is it a pun when you likely mean that in a wholly different way than some might say it?"

Trixie hadn't noticed her mistake, causing her to question him as she watched rather than helped him get up, "Say what?"

"Foal instead of fool."

"Stop being a smart ass and help me," Trixie groaned. If it was just them she wouldn't care, but she could see the children giggling over at the house, "I say we kill seven more of these abominations and then see if they need a hand with anything else inside?"

Kael was curious about her specific choice of seven, since there appeared to be far more than that in the field, but he wasn't sure he could handle a full ten more, "Works for me," one of his hands rose to his chest where his red blood was streaming down onto his similarly colored clothing, "Though I must warn you I am getting a bit…tired, and low on mana."

"Mana?" Trixie asked, something about the word striking a chord in her mind. Had she read about it? Heard about it?

Kael wasn't quite sure where he got it from either, "The energy that powers our magic. Did I just remember the name from my old memories, or did we discuss this yet?"

"Who knows? It's not like our teacher told us much more than 'beat up those poor animals'."

"I suppose you are right," he sighed as he tried to muster the strength to cast more magic. He could honestly use a break, but he also wasn't sure he'd be getting up anytime soon if he stopped and let the adrenaline wear off.

With both of them working together it was actually a pathetic display from the remaining Harvest Watchers, who were unable to do much when ice rooted them to the ground and as fire melted right through them. The two didn't even receive any other wounds now that they had aid, but Trixie began to notice the toll Kael's previous ones were taking. He had been hit and maimed even before she came outside, probably having thought he could handle the machines easier than he actually could.

As their quickly decided battles progressed Trixie moved to keep Kael propped up by using her own body. He didn't say anything to thank her, his speech having dropped off as he channeled all his energy into casting spells, but Trixie didn't need the act to be recognized. She wasn't going to let him be the only one who helped selflessly, and she was already used to carrying him in one way or another.

"Woah, you guys are awesome!"

Five more machines had fallen when the praise came from one of the two orphan boys, causing Trixie to look back and watch as his mother ushered the children all inside, "Get inside, Katz. It's dangerous to go out when the machines are active."

"But I wanna see the Elves beat up the robots…" he complained. She usually let him watch when someone came to beat up the Harvest Watchers, but this time the fights were taking place closer to the house. Of course, as a child, he wasn't able to really piece together the difference in situations and as such was upset to be told to come inside like the other two had already gone.

"You can watch from inside."

"Okay…" he agreed, though his voice revealed he wanted to watch from a closer view. Trixie looked back to Kael as the door shut, a weird feeling having slowly crept into her ever since she saw the three children that morning.

"Is something the matter?" Kael questioned her, finally having had a moment to catch his breath since they took a break from destroying robots.

"I…" Trixie started, though she had no real idea about how to finish. What was she feeling? It wasn't anything good…

She shook her head as she attempted to dismiss the subject, "Kids make me feel weird. That's all."

"Whatever do you mean?"

Trixie tried exploring the emotion more but only came up with more vagueness. Perhaps the cause of her feelings came from before she remembered anything? Past experiences with children could be giving her these feelings, "I don't get the feeling that I like them…" she sighed as she thought about anything these children had done. They hadn't done anything to really irritate her, at least not in the way Kael was moments ago, so the feeling wasn't personal towards them, "But there isn't anything wrong with these ones…at least not yet…"

Kael smirked. He might be able to plant certain seeds in her mind that would pay off farther down the line, all through an innocent suggestion, "Perhaps you can think of a way that they would be more appealing to you," he shrugged weakly and gave a small laugh to make it sound like he was joking, "Maybe if they were your own you would feel better?"

That actually did sound quite better to Trixie. While not having any desire to be a mother in particular, she doubted she could bring herself to hate her own children, and so perhaps viewing children as if they were not unlike her own could help her issue…especially since Trixie was partial to the idea of having more of herself around, "I do love myself…"

"I do too," Kael commented, fully knowing she wouldn't catch his meaning. She would assume he was speaking of himself like she had just done, and he was fine with that at this point. Her oblivious innocence was a nice contrast to the sometimes grim world they found themselves in.

"We're really egocentric, aren't we?" Trixie laughed as she misconstrued his statement as expected. Though there was a slight bit of nervousness to her laughter Kael realized…

Was she oblivious, or pretending to be?

"I like you just the way you are."

That thought caused her laughter to simmer down and for a frown to grow on her face. They weren't close enough to anyone else to hear them unless they were loud, so she spoke softly on purpose, "Even though I'm a horse?"

That was certainly an interesting point. If he were to pursue a relationship with her he would most certainly prefer she remain in her Elven form except for when it was more convenient to have a way of transportation, but in reality he didn't mind too much. Something told him that shapeshifting wasn't abnormal in this world, so making a fuss about her changing of forms was not high on his priority list, "It makes you all the more interesting."

Trixie snorted, "They think we're married. I can almost see why, even though it's a silly idea."

Kael felt his stomach drop. He would have to choose his words carefully if he didn't want to reveal to much to her, especially since she seemed quite oblivious to his growing devotion to her, "Oh, yes, I was meaning to mention that to you."

"Consider yourself lucky. Something intuitively tells me that married men don't see as much skin as you do most of the time."

"I don't think most men are married to nudist animals though."

Trixie balked at his statement despite previously having enjoyed her playful joke, "You make it sound profane. I just find wearing full clothing…" she paused to consider the issue. She didn't mind clothing, but it did not feel like a necessity to her, "Well it's weird. Some isn't bad, and I like it, but anything more feels wrong."

Trixie would have suggested they go back to their job when she was interrupted by a hand moving atop her head. It took her a moment to realize her hair was being stroked, which made her blush in embarrassment as she realized Kael was chuckling.

"Kael, I'm not some animal or pet you can just touch for your own amusement! You touch my fur enough as it is!"

"If I had fur I'd let you touch it," he offered, though he had no intention of changing bodies like her. He was comfortable and secure as he was.

In an attempt at retaliation Trixie brought a hand up to his hair and began to play with the blonde locks strewn wildly about given his lack of a comb. This not feeling like enough, Trixie began running a hand over his chest to show him what it felt like when he scratched her belly as a horse, "See? How does that feel?"

Kael closed his eyes and did his best to focus on accomplishing a singular goal, "Good and…uncomfortable."

How could something good feel uncomfortable? Trixie was baffled by his response, though it stemmed from her general naiveté rather than a lack of intelligence, "How is it both?"

He chose to give her an alternate explanation rather than the one that'd make her blush, "It's not for the same reason, but you definitely like it when I pet you, yet you find it embarrassing so it's uncomfortable for you despite the physical pleasure."

Trixie certainly wasn't comfortable with the tingling and odd feeling she got when he pet her, so perhaps he was correct in labeling it both things, "I guess you're right…"

A random thought from their previous conversation crept into Trixie's mind and made its way out in the form of her crossing her arms and pouting briefly, "Anyways, don't do anything to blow our cover. For the next few days I am your wife, and you will treat me like you would the woman you love."

"I don't foresee needing to make any changes," Kael joked, though Trixie did not appear to catch it given her response.

"Why, because they won't notice the difference?" after all, the Saldeans barely knew them.

That wasn't it though, but Kael was fine with letting her assume that, "Something like that…"

It was his turn to have a random thought creep into his mind as a subtle glance over Trixie's body brought this particular memory rushing back.

"Oh, and also, I noticed you have a tattoo on your hip. Probably in both forms, but definitely in your equine body."

Trixie did not feel like she was the type to get a tattoo, especially on such a place as her hip, and so his statement made her confused, "A tattoo?"

"Yes, it was of a magic wand and what appeared to be a moon."

Trixie glared at him as she resumed her previous position as a third leg to him to keep him standing, "You will tell no-one of this," her glare deepened when she realized that to notice something like that he had to have taken a look at that part of her, "And why were you looking there, Kael?"

He held a hand up defensively, though the other covered the part of him that was still bleeding, "It just caught my eye since it's different. That's all."

That was a lie, but Trixie bought it.

Kael had been checking if her large hips carried over across forms, though he had a feeling that since they didn't seem out of place on her equine body that her large pony hips led to her having large Elven hips.

Yes, he was thinking about the logic and science behind her behind. He would feel bad if not for the fact that she slept in underwear on top of him every night.

This, he reasoned, was most definitely why he found himself falling for her at twice the speed he otherwise might have. Not only was her personality adorable, she was physically attracting him at all points of the day and then accidently flaunting herself because of her equine mentality.

At least, he reasoned, he was the only one privy to this side of her. He was not quite sure he would like to share it. He only hoped these facts about her quirks did not spread, since it might ruin any reputation they were building for themselves.

After defeating two more Harvest Watchers without any real difficulty the two made their way inside and prepared to take a rest. That was quite the task they just did, and it hurt like nothing else they Kael felt since they woke up, and the wound was about on par for Trixie with her humiliation against the Huntard previously.

Oh the Huntard…Trixie was glad a more skilled Hunter put that Huntard in her place the last time they saw her. Justice, Trixie believed, though it was brought about by someone who might no longer be alive…

* * *

Back at the Fairbreeze Inn Trixie and Kael had stayed at for some time there was quite the crowd gathered. Many Elves had lost their homes in the brief invasion as fighting waged across the city, and so the Inns were housing extra people who weren't able to return home just yet. The cities carpenters and workers were working hard, but it would be a few days before people could return home.

The Fairbreeze Inn ended up housing a few of the surviving military members in the city who were not at the hospital camps set up around the city, and if one were to be honest there were more members of the military being nursed back to health than there were those in good health because of how terribly their forces had been crushed by Kargath's Orcs under the command of Prince Kael'thas.

Some men hanging by the bar of the Inn were speaking about the two travelers who had earned some slight reputation from them being around two high ranking military officials before the invasion, which is why their words ended up playing a part in the building repute of Trixie and Kael.

"You remember that guy who came through that the stuck up Hunter wanted a bounty on?" one military man laughed as he drank with his many friends. They were all getting their drinks and were going to take seat at a large round table set up to accommodate the extra guests when their conversation began.

"Yeah, what about him? I didn't really get to see his face because of the freaking bandana," the second man complained about the hidden Kael who had slipped by them.

The first man grinned wildly, remembering something for all of the wrong reasons, "You remember that girl that was with him?"

"Oh boy, do I ever! Those hips were huge! I bet I couldn't even take that backside of hers in with both hands if I tried," a third man in their group laughed as he remembered Trixie, who was…differently proportioned from other Blood Elf women.

Across the room, their conversation caught the ears of some other men who were playing Pool quietly by themselves. They just finished a game, making their tally equal for the day of wins and losses. No longer distracted by the game, they began to intently listen in on the raunchy men across the room.

The first man spoke up again, "I hear she isn't all that modest. Perhaps that loser won't mind sharing her…"

The fourth and final man in the original group winked to his friends as they all toasted a drink to the beautiful woman they all had noticed, "They were staying at this cheap inn too, so I bet she'd be willing to do quite a lot for a few silver pieces."

A second pool game did not begin as the raven haired man and the stocky blonde beside him each grit their teeth. Neither was anywhere near remotely okay with what they were hearing, and yet the other men continued to yak on and on about their perversion.

Reuenthal grabbed Mitter'meyer's shoulder and stopped him from approaching the profane group of men. They were both recovering from wounds sustained in the recent battle, and it would make a fight difficult.

That was not the actual reason he halted Mitter'meyer though. He had a much better reason, and in no way was it because he did not want Mitter'meyer to discipline them with a barrage of fists.

"Don't. It will be seen as excessive force if you use the pool cue."

Mitter'meyer looked down to see that he had begun to wield the pool cue as a weapon. Realizing this, he put it down, and Reuenthal let go.

They didn't need a weapon, as proven by how later that day four more casualties were added to the official record.

It was one thing to insult his majesty, a crime punishable in the harshest of manners, but it was another entirely to insult the lady of his majesty, even unknowingly.

As the two men had their opponents dragged off to be healed at the medical camps, Reuenthal wondered to himself how Kael and his companion were faring in Westfall. It had been some time since he had visited it himself, and things were surely to have changed given that the Defias's leadership had lost its head years back.

Perhaps they could warm up their skills on the lowly Human bandits who could still be skulking around, or on those damned Mrgles or whatever their species was called. Fish people with less brains than the four men now in the hospital.

Mitter'meyer was less worried because his faith in his lord, and so he instead was more chipper as he thought about going home, "Reuenthal, care to come over for dinner? Evangelin probably has put together something nice, and I have had enough of this bar for one night."

Reuenthal dispelled his thoughts and shook his head no, "Sorry, Mitter'meyer. I do not possess your speed, and so I can only do tasks so swiftly. I have other matters to attend to."

His old fashioned friend put his hands on his hips and gave Reuenthal a knowing look.

This again.

"Does this 'matter' have dark or light hair?"

"Light," Reuenthal smirked, knowing that he had been caught. He was going to be spending the evening with some woman.

"It was dark days ago! Why must you swap lovers every week?!"

"Week? I think you are undervaluing my skill."

Mitter'meyer scoffed and shook his head. He closed his eyes to further show his disapproval, "I hope you'll drop this debauchery one day…we have few enough people as it is, it won't do if you hog all the ladies of our race!"

When he finished he opened his eyes again to find that he was all alone.

"Hey, where did you go? Reuenthal? Reuenthal! I wasn't done lecturing you yet about family values!"

* * *

_**Author's Note: Trixie doesn't know it now, but she still hasn't gotten over Snips and Snails bringing an Ursa to Ponyville, which ruined her life. That's why she doesn't like kids really.  
**_

_**Thank you for reading, and I hope to hear from you in the reviews below!**_


	12. Level 12: Nananana, Nananana, Say Hello

**_A/N: Special thanks to FutureShock and KingHoborg for your reviews last chapter! Your support helps me work as fast as I do.  
_**

_**I hope you all enjoy, and please leave your thoughts in the reviews below!**_

* * *

It was on the way inside the farm house that Trixie's eye caught something. It was a mechanical contraption that formed an odd shape, what one might even call a malformed heart if not for its metallic composition, and the manner in which it moved around despite not being attached to anything else is what drew Trixie's attention.

Trixie figured it must have fallen off or out of one of the destroyed machines, so she looted it from the ground and held it in one hand as she and Kael went inside. It was whirring around and making mechanical noises still, some oil running down one side of it and the sound of moving gears enticing Trixie's ears.

Saldean turned and smiled at the two mechanical vanquishers as he closed the door behind them. Captivated by the weird device in her hand, Trixie held it out to him in hopes for an immediate answer about what it was, "Trixie found a thing. What does this thing do?"

"Now what have you got there…" the farmer said to himself as he leaned down to give it a better look. After some brief observation his face became shocked and he turned up to look at Trixie.

"Is that...Is that the heart of one of the watchers?"

Trixie shrugged, as did Kael because neither of them had a clue. Kael hadn't really noticed what Trixie picked up, and he didn't even think before that the machines had hearts.

Seeing that neither of them were going to answer his question with anything definitive, the farmer answered his own question as the young children of the house gathered around the taller residents, "I've heard stories about using one of these to power up a watcher for personal use. Of course I'm really in no shape to try such things myself."

That was all Trixie needed to pull it back towards herself before thrusting it into the air triumphantly.

"Dibs!"

The others in the room were less well versed in such slang, and so Trixie received a chorus of questions from Kael, their two hosts, and the three children present.

"Dibs?"

Realizing that perhaps her own sense of language differed from theirs, Trixie backtracked and composed herself before continuing, "Ahem, may I tinker around with it, Mr. Saldean? It sounds like it would be quite useful."

"Oh, why sure. From what I've heard, all you really need to do is find a suitable harvest golem and drop in the heart. Once you've done that you should be able to take full control of the creature."

He took a look outside the window and then pointed in the direction Trixie's map indicated was west of the farm.

"I think that there's a whole field of overloaded harvest golems west of here, at the Molsen Farm. Look for the arcs of electricty. Should you manage to get it working, use your golem to destroy the energized harvest reapers at the old Molsen farm. Those monsters are much more destructive than the ones on our farm."

Trixie gave a noblewoman's laugh as she thought about harnessing the power of one of the behemoths that had so recently wounded both her and Kael. She'd ask him to tag along, but he was in far worse condition than her.

Of course Trixie was not going to admit that she was worried about her still-bleeding companion and friend, so instead she sought a way of keeping him out of this. Her eyes darted around the room until she found Salma working off in one corner on sewing the new clothing for both of them.

"This'll be fun," Trixie gave her partner a patronizing pat on the shoulder as she moved to open the door that had just been shut, "Kael, why don't you help our dear hostess with her sewing?"

The savvy Elf who was beginning to become attuned to Trixie's eccentricities gave her an annoyed look, "I have a feeling you're only saying that because usually men do the mechanical things, and women do the sewing."

By now Trixie was already outside and placing the heart into the body of a lightly damaged Harvester they had defeated earlier by making it crash into another, taking this one offline but not destroying it.

"Sorry, can't hear you, taking control of a killer robot!"

Kael groaned and shut the door with a slight amount of force, though he took care to make sure it did not slam. Trixie had just signed him up for sewing of all things. Who did she think she was?

After all, it's not as if she had the comprehension and awareness to actually notice that she could get him to do whatever she wanted, at the cost of some banter of course. She didn't know he cared for her more than just how partners did, and so she was just being her pretend-bossy self.

"Your lady friend is quite the interesting woman," Saldean mused as he and the three orphans all moved to the window again to see what was going on outside. Kael spared himself the humiliation of watching Trixie do something cool, but he could still hear her.

"Harvest-tank launching!"

Kael hung his head. She was ridiculous and over the top at times, but he wouldn't have it any other way.

She owed him one though.

"Believe me, I know," Kael replied in a half-amused, half-annoyed tone. He only hoped it was not something that ran in the blood. One Trixie was adorable if annoying. Two would kill him. A half dozen would be a living Hel, he'd reckon.

His thoughts about a later chapter in his life with Trixie were brought to a close by Salma calling him over to her.

"Hey handsome, mind helping me for a little while? I'm sure your lover won't be gone long, and I doubt she'll be jealous over lil' old me."

Lover? That made Kael want to laugh. He had to put up with Trixie's equine habit of sleeping without conventional clothing every night and he had no such luck.

Perhaps though if he just weathered the pain for now, it'd pay off? Perhaps he could sew Trixie something she'd like—

Kael's eyes lit up as he realized something.

He could sew her something _HE_ liked.

* * *

Trixie had poked around inside of the machine she had taken control over before doing much of anything with it, and from this she actually gained a basic understanding of the motor functions. A puncture wound on the back of the Harvester let her peer inside the large tin can, and Trixie found herself not all that baffled by the inner workings. Perhaps, she considered, she had some experience with mechanical things in her previous memories that were poking out now. Minor experience though, because she still managed to cause the machine to explode after a few minutes of piloting it from the inside.

Trixie groaned as she stumbled back to the farm in a daze, glad that it wasn't much of a walk. A good part of the day had passed by though because she fainted due to a certain explosion, and so her overall mood was sour. She had wanted to keep piloting the Harvester since it was quite fun to go around inside, "Well, that could have gone better…"

Upon her return to the farm Trixie was met by an enthusiastic Saldean, who ran up to meet her with a bright expression on his face. He seemed to have just finished his farm work for the day and was glad to have something else to focus on, "It actually worked? That's incredible, Trixie. Hopefully that takes care of the harvest golem problem here in Westfall."

Trixie didn't want to lie about this to the nice man, especially given that the golems were so dangerous, "I mean, there are still some around. I just misclicked a button and fell out. Then it crashed into another Harvester and exploded. I don't think they're meant to be controlled like that."

It had been fun to slash at unsuspecting Harvesters, but the fun wore off with the bruise Trixie felt on her head. That surely wasn't going to help her amnesia anytime soon.

"Here, let me bandage you up. You look like you took quite the beating today!"

Trixie submitted to the suggestion and let the elderly man begin patching up her wounds. She wished she had potions like Kael had before, but she doubted such things would be as common in the less magic infused human society.

As the farmer fixed Trixie up at a table on the side of the room, Trixie cast her gaze over to her partner who was seated at the dining room table with various pieces of cloth before him and Salma, "Kael, how was sewing?"

Kael appeared so focused that he didn't even turn to acknowledge her, though he did respond verbally, "It's actually not all that hard," he held up a silver linen t-shirt that was made for Trixie, "Sorry, I could only make your clothing like your hair color. There was no purple dye. I hope it is alright."

Trixie looked over it and actually found herself impressed he had managed to make something wearable on the first try it seemed. Trixie bit her lip as she realized just how into it he appeared to be, as soon after holding up the garment he went back to working on the matching pants he was making.

"…you're liking this, aren't you?"

Extremely handsome, not too masculine overall, a possible interest in sewing…

"Actually, yes," Kael confirmed, having gotten quite enthralled by the activity as the day progressed. It required focus to do right, and the idea that he might one day improve enough to make something…nice…for Trixie to wear made him all the more determined.

Of course, he had no idea that this made him appear as if he played for the other team in her eyes, and so he blissfully went on making clothing for her as Trixie found herself wondering why she was worried.

It wasn't as if they were actually involved or anything, or that she was romantically inclined towards her fabulous Elven partner. Nothing like that at all she told herself.

To change the subject from Kael's fabulousness, Trixie got up from where she was sitting the moment her host was finished bandaging her various cuts and approached her determined partner. As she watched him work a part of her mind realized something odd about making clothing for someone else, someone who wasn't even there.

"How do I know these will fit?"

"Well, I didn't have you to model for me so I did my best."

Kael was pretty sure he had every curve of her body etched into his memory. After all, he had quite the experience every night trying not to look at them for what seemed like hours.

Admittedly, he had to make her pants quite large to fit his large hipped partner, but he deemed it worth it. It was better than making her a skirt, which could be looked up, or making a more form fitting pair of pants, which would drive him insane at every point of the day in addition to his normally frustrating nights.

Trixie picked up and began to pull on the shirt only to realize that it wasn't quite taut, "This is so loose."

"Better to err on the side of caution. If it was too tight your b—I mean it might rip with how much wear and tear they'll take."

Making her clothing went both ways. If he made it appealing to him, it would also appeal to other men, and Kael didn't want her to draw unnecessary attention. Not in that way at least. So loose, form concealing clothing it was.

Besides, it'd help him not notice her body. So win-win, even if Trixie found it weird.

Trixie bought the excuse, "You're right…" she paused to look the shirt over more, and quickly began to think about wearing it the moment she could change, "Thanks."

It was then that Trixie noticed that across the table where Salma was working there was a set of red cloth and some leather pads dyed red as well. It seemed that she was making some kind of reinforced clothing for Kael, which Trixie considered a good idea since Kael was determined to not let her get hurt, and who was she to go against his wishes?

"You really like red."

Kael shrugged nonchalantly as he continued to sew. He wanted to finish the pants now so that later in the night he could perhaps do socks, which he had noticed Trixie didn't seem to remember existed, "I feel as if I have an affinity towards it, though it's not my favorite color."

Trixie ran a hand through his hair, "Well I think it fits you, I mean after all—"

She paused as she almost admitted his true identity as leader of the Blood Elves…a race which had red as one of its main colors. To go along with their cover and to make up for her momentary falter, Trixie shifted her sentence as she leaned in close to Kael's face.

"You look so handsome in it."

He blushed as he felt her lips press against his left cheek, though it was followed by a very soft whisper.

"I'm keeping our cover. Say anything and die."

As if to break up what might possibly become an indecent exchange of kissing in front of the young children, Saldean spoke up and started with a laugh.

"While you two were busy I prepared some ingredients for a stew. We'll be cooking some meals for the homeless here in Westfall. Would you care to assist us?"

To tease Kael about his less than masculine new hobby, Trixie needled him with a sweet but patronizing voice, "Of course. I am sure Kael loves cooking."

Even awestruck by the warmth on his cheek, Kael wasted no time in retorting her statement, "If it has to do with plants, I'm sure Trixie knows better how to prepare them."

Salma assumed it was because of her being a vegetarian or on a diet, her husband didn't care, but Trixie was plain confused why Kael would say something so odd, "Why would you think—"

Horses eat plants.

Trixie wanted to retaliate in some fashion, but she couldn't because it'd draw attention to the issue rather than let it fade.

It was in this manner that Trixie found herself cooking a meal with marginal help from Kael, who just smugly grinned at her as he mostly sat to the side with his beautiful sewing.

* * *

Trixie wanted to grumble and complain, but she didn't as she made the food lest she appear ungrateful for all she was being given by the farmers. After Trixie and Salma finished cooking the latter thanked the former sincerely, even bowing to her momentarily.

"Bless your heart, dear. These poor orphans haven't had a hot meal in days.

And it does look like we will have enough left over to help feed some of the homeless of Westfall."

Trixie averted her eyes and began to poke the ground with one foot, one hand rubbing the back of her neck nervously while the other hung at her side, "It's nothing. I may have even done them harm with how bad it might be."

Salma's husband gave a hearty laugh from the nearby dining table where he and Kael both sat, "Oh nonsense. It's been many years since anyone has offered to lend us aid, you two. Had you not come along, we might not have made it through the coming winter. You have proven yourself to be selfless individuals - people that we can trust. I can only wish we had something of value to offer you."

This time Kael spoke up, given how nervous he could see Trixie was at receiving genuine praise and not something more superficial, "Everything you have granted us is more than enough. We are grateful for your hospitality."

Salma began to pack up the stew when she realized how it was already mid-afternoon, when she ought to see about getting things prepared for the night and finishing the rest of the tasks she had to do. The stew ought to go to the mouths it was meant for though, and while the three orphans in the house were currently enjoying it along with some bread there were still many other hungry souls out there.

"Our little girl works at Sentinel Hill and is very close with the homeless of Westfall. Perhaps she can help distribute what we've made tonight. Could you run an errand for us to her?"

Kael wasn't looking forward to carrying a lot of stew a long distance, but perhaps he could convince Trixie to carry him if he carried it all, "You mean Hope? I was meaning to ask, she seems a bit shy. Is there a reason for that?"

Salma and her husband exchanged glances, sighed, and then she spoke up with some reservation. It seemed to be a touchy, private subject that Kael almost regretted asking about the moment he saw their expressions.

"About four years ago, in the dead of night, a little girl walked right into our farmhouse and collapsed on the floor. Nobody had a clue as to her identity. The poor little thing had no recollection of who she was or where she came from - truly a lost soul."

Salma paused before smiling to herself. She remembered that day well, and while it brought her almost to tears to think about what the poor girl had to have been through it did not make her any less happy about the family they've become since.

"Soon after, we adopted the little girl and named her Hope - for that is what she represented," Salma continued to smile as she finished her tale, "She is now a very young lady, caring for the destitute and homeless of Westfall. Now, before it gets cold, please take my Westfall stew to her at Sentinel Hill, south of here."

Any follow up to that conversation was cut off by the sound of hacking across the room, where the young Kikka had tried eating a piece of bread too big for her small throat. She threw it up along with some of the stew she had ingested, causing Salma to rush over to her side like a mother ought to.

"Oh Kikka, chew before you swallow!"

"Sorry mommy…" the child apologized as Trixie took one container of stew and motioned for Kael to take the other.

"Well, we'll take the stew! See you all later!"

Kael didn't know why Trixie rushed outside, but after they escaped the house and she blanched he began to figure out why.

"Bleh!"

"Bleh?" Kael joked, amused by the random noise she made.

Trixie wanted to cross her arms as they moved away from the house, though the idea that she could transform and make this easier on them both did not cross her mind, "Yes, bleh. I don't know how they can stand it," she stuck her tongue out as if she was still disgusted to make up for how she could not cross her arms crossly, "Skipping past the icky-smushy page would be nice."

Kael smirked as he imagined a way to make a conversation go right over Trixie's head. It was becoming his favorite pastime.

"Perhaps adoption would suit you then?"

As the two continued on their path to Sentinel Hill Trixie paused to think. It did not take her long to come to a conclusion though as she soon shrugged her shoulders. She had taken a moment to change right before they finished cooking and was finding herself comfortable in the clothes Kael helped make for her…even if they were pretty loose.

"Eh, that feels a little less personal. After all, why would I deprive the world of more of myself?" Trixie laughed haughtily, unknowingly sending a chill down Kael's spine, "What do you think about adoption?"

That was something that had been toying in Kael's mind ever since he found out about his identity. Wouldn't certain things be expected of him as the Prince and future King of his people?

"If I am to be king I believe I ought to have my own bloodline carried, but so long as that is fulfilled I would not mind also adopting," seeing Trixie nod made him grow a devilish grin. Perhaps he could use this topic to investigate something, "After all, it's not as if I won't have the resources to have as many as I please."

Trixie glowered at him, "Are you talking about a harem or are you referencing the fact that you will be rich?"

"…I can't have both?"

He said it innocently yet smugly enough to invoke the reaction he was hoping from her: jealousy. While perhaps not 100% pure unadulterated jealousy, Trixie was not pleased by him saying he was interested in a harem, which she would have no stakes in if she didn't have some emotional attachment to him of some fashion. In reality Kael would just be happy to stay with his dear partner every step of the way without anyone else, but he could feign a different interest if it meant revealing what Trixie's thoughts were.

Trixie threw her nose up in the air, her voice sharp as she berated him, "Hmmmph. Good luck finding women of any worth who would be willing to be a part of such a system."

"Oh yes, I must work on my pick up lines for later. 'Excuse me miss, I am a rich and powerful King. Would you like to join me in the palace?' Does that work?"

The sarcasm soaked into his words made Trixie snap, "Oh quiet, showoff. I never pictured you as the more-than-one sort of man."

There it was again, but it was about time Kael revealed his ruse so as to not anger Trixie in any permanent fashion, "That's because I'm not, but it is fun to see you get ruffled about it."

"I'm not ruffled!" she denied as her voice grew increasingly agitated, directly contradicting her statement.

Kael let out a nervous cough to bridge back to the previous topic, "Anyways, to answer your question, yes, I can see myself having an adopted child or two."

"Good."

Kael smirked. She might not even know it yet, but he could tell there was something there.

"Why is that good?" he smarmily joked.

"Stop questioning me Kael, we're here!"

Trixie was right, because in the near distance on the path they were headed was what each of them assumed was the destination: a large circular set of disconnected walls with gaping holes in their defenses that all sat around a tower that served as the main structure, and all around the landscape there were enough people with the appearance of stragglers to populate the entire area into the hundreds.

Sentinel Hill really looked like it could use a hand.

* * *

As they approached Trixie found herself a bit frightened about the prospect of giving homeless people food. The whole street rat thing made her feel off, as if it was something else she could feel at the tip of her mind but not at the point of conscious thought. As such she gave Kael the stew she had been carrying and opted to go look around rather than directly interact with the cause of her unease.

"I did the last big thing Kael all alone while you were sewing like a little girl, so you're up next. I want to look around."

Kael tried to chase after her but the encumbrance of twice the amount of stew containers kept him from actually doing so.

"Wait, Trixie—"

She was already out of sight since Kael dropped his gaze to focus on the wobbling stew in his arms, at which point he lost track of her.

He sighed at his fortune. Now he was going to have to help with twice as much stew, since both he and Trixie correctly assumed that when they got to their destination they would be obligated to help the teen distribute all the stew.

"Well, damn."

Trixie's words sunk into him then, causing Kael to shout after her.

"And sewing is a legitimate profession!"

Some of the disgruntled, disheveled crowd nearby gave him a look that Kael indignantly returned.

"What are you looking at? I'm perfectly secure."

* * *

As Trixie slipped away from her poor partner she tried to find a place to go that had less street rats, a place where perhaps she could sort out her feelings and maybe remember something. On the far side of the settlement she noticed a patch of trees that did not have downtrodden people by them and so Trixie set it as her new destination.

On her way Trixie passed by the tower and found herself overall unimpressed. It was not even more than a few stories tall, ending at about the height the stonewalls surrounding the area were made out of…though one must wonder what the purpose was of having a defensive perimeter that did not fully encircle your base?

On her way past the tower Trixie overheard a conversation from the structure that caught her sensitive ears given the odd word one man said.

"Might I ask, what's with the worgen in the stocks?"

Worgen? That didn't sound familiar to Trixie. Stocks did though, and Trixie assumed it was a derivative form of "stockade".

Trixie moved to get a better look at those talking, though it was all she could do to keep from gasping at the sight of their conversation's subject.

"We caught this beast skulking by the farms up north. He is unrepentant and easily agitated. Keep your distance, lieutenant."

Held in stocks as mentioned by one of the two men speaking was a werewolf of sorts, neither wolf nor man, with grey and white fur as well as a dark mane of hair on his head. His small, bloodshot eyes served as a tool to further creep Trixie out, and his struggling in his bonds did not make him anything less than intimidating. He appeared large enough to tear a man apart with his bare hands, or rather claws, if given a moment.

The so called Worgen snarled as he continued to try and free himself violently, "When I break out of these stocks I'm going to rip out your heart and devour it whole!"

One of the two men walked away, leaving the other to look at the Worgen with amusement, "Wow, the marshal wasn't kidding."

The man walks over to the Worgen and smirks as he pulls out a pair of sunglasses, "But is your bark..."

Trixie cringed not from fear of the Worgen anymore but rather of fear about the line she was sure was about to be said.

The Human finishes slipping on his sunglasses as he speaks, "Worse than your bite?"

"That joke was in terrible taste," Trixie groaned. Okay, so there were wolf people. That was a thing. A terrifying thing, but a thing nonetheless.

She continued on her previous path to the trees without further interruption, something she wasn't entirely sure she was content with. She had almost hoped Kael would run after her and chastise her for abandoning him…

A noise faintly familiar to Trixie drew her attention from her thoughts, because it was a noise she hadn't heard since she arrived in Westfall.

"What was that?"

She couldn't exactly determine what it was, but Trixie still wanted to seek it out and see what was giving the sound of an animal that ought not to be this far south.

After some brief wandering, Trixie found a Mana Wyrm chained to one of the trees she had approached. It was out of sight of the main encampment of the Humans and as such did not appear to be a part of the city, but Trixie couldn't really find an easy explanation as to why such a being would be right here. Did they have these here too? For some reason that felt odd and wrong, given that it was the opposite half of a continent.

"Naaa…" the animal weakly let out, its normally floating and shining body limply hanging on the ground. It appeared skinnier and bluer than normal Mana Wyrms, though Trixie doubted the latter had much to do with the former. What she could see though was that the poor animal was starving, and that was simply unacceptable.

"Awww, poor thing," Trixie cooed as she approached it and lowered herself down to its level. It was most definitely chained to the tree, but a little frost magic to chill the chain so much it became brittle solved that dilemma.

Even freed, the Wyrm did not get up. It seemed disheartened, as if it didn't have a will to rise.

Trixie ran a hand gently over its smooth scales. It really was like an eel in its texture and that made touching it both a little weird as well as nice, since it was soft.

"What are you doing so far away from home?"

"Naaa…" it responded, its linear body curving to have both its glowing eyes look up at Trixie.

Well, someone left it for dead, and Trixie felt like she owed the Mana Wyrm community a favor after the damage she was told to do to it previously. As such she continued to pet it with the intention of making it want to be her pet.

"Don't you want to come with me?" she gestured to the broken chain, "See, you don't have chains on you anymore. No more mean humans to trap you."

It didn't move though. Whoever left it there must have really instilled a sense that it ought to stay there in the Wyrm or else Trixie could not explain why it was being so stubborn.

"I promise I don't bite," Trixie looked around to see if anyone was looking before she followed up with a joke, "Well, at least while I'm in this body. I think I may have nibbled on Kael last night since he has some marks on his neck that don't look like claws, but I was dreaming about food, okay? Nothing weird about that."

The Wyrm continued to look at Trixie just as it had, but the fact that she was being stared at made Trixie self-conscious.

"Oh don't give me that look. We're just partners. I've only known him a few days. What, do you think I want to be his queen or something? Don't be ridiculous."

Her words seemed to be having no real effect on the Wyrm as Trixie continued to indulge herself in self-accosting behavior.

"Hey, this isn't about me!" Trixie groaned. Why was this so difficult? Couldn't every Huntard do it? "Why won't you come with me? I promise I'll find you something to eat. You look starved you poor little Wyrm."

The mention of food made the little beast rise. Seeing that she had its attention, Trixie smiled at the Wyrm as it began to float finally.

"That's a good Wyrm. Come, we'll go see how Kael is doing. I bet he's done something to scrape together a few coins, and so we can all afford something to eat."

Trixie stood back up and began to walk away only to realize it was not following her. She turned back and noticed its hesitant budging towards her, as if it was not sure it should or not, but with a beckoning hand Trixie managed to call it to her side.

"Good boy…or girl…" she looked over the reptile to no avail, "I can't tell to be honest."

The Wyrm began to float about randomly around Trixie which ended up giving her an idea.

"Boy one spin around me, girl two spins."

The Mana Wyrm did two laps around her and Trixie pumped a fist into the air to celebrate the occasion.

"Haha, now we outnumber Kael!"

* * *

"I smell Westfall stew! Mother sent you!?"

Kael had just walked right into the tower, where a guard directed him after he politely asked where to find Hope, when the cheerful voice of Hope met his ears. He now got a better look at her than the other night when she slipped by him, though all it ended up doing was affirm what he saw previously: a teenage girl about the age of the next two oldest Saldean orphans put together wearing a white and grey outfit that formed a monochrome look with her black hair.

"Yes, she had me come along to bring it to you."

Hope nodded and helped Kael set it down so she could begin transferring it to some nearby containers to distribute it in, "There are many people here who simply no longer have the means or inclination to keep themselves fed. They have given up hope," she paused at the pun to smile at Kael, "Do you understand what it means to be left so hopeless as to stop caring about life? We must work together to show them that there is hope. That with the dawning day a better life comes."

The way she smiled at her own unfortunate life…Kael had seen that once before, and it didn't sit right with him any more this time than the last.

Hope held out a few bowls of the stew to Kael, still smiling as she spoke, "Take my mother's stew and help feed the homeless around Sentinel Hill."

The fact that someone who was likely half his age or less was giving him orders made Kael want to laugh, but he chose not to in order to not demean her, "A bit bossy for a little girl, aren't you?"

She chuckled at his observation, "Oh you have no idea. Now do it, please."

Kael actually wasn't all that ready to go about doing this without first learning a bit more about the location, so he could perhaps avoid any unsavory company, "Mind if I ask a couple questions?"

"Have you fed the homeless?" Hope cheekily responded, in effect implying that she would talk to him after he was done doing his job.

To that Kael relented, for he could feel a distinct stubbornness in this girl, "Fine, fine."

Kael went about distributing the stew to various members of the community, though he wished they had the willpower to come to the stew instead of forcing him to get up and approach each and every one of them with it. These people really did seem to be without hope, as if they had checked out of life itself. Was this the result of a city casting out its own members to a dangerous land?

"Thank you…" one member of the community said to Kael as he gave them what likely was their first meal of the day, but as Kael began to leave them behind to continue he was brought to a halt just like Trixie had been.

"The Defias said they are recruiting…"

"What, you want to be a criminal?"

"If it means we get fed, why not? What has Stormwind done for us?"

Defias…Stormwind…Kael continued to listen in on two of the nearby poor men with definite interest.

"But the Defias got crushed a few years back by that joint expedition. How are they gonna pay up?"

"I heard they just got a huge payoff from somebody. They're richer than ever, and they wanna use the money to expand their numbers—"

It was then that the two men noticed Kael lingering nearby them, and the one that had been speaking turned to face the Elf with a dark glare.

"Hey, what are you looking at, pointy ears?"

Kael placed the last of the stew down by the feet of the man before holding his hands out in a gesture suggesting he was nonchalant about the conversation.

"Nothing. But if Stormwind has wronged you, why not take a stand against it?"

One of the men looked at the other with curiosity, "You hear that?" he turned back to Kael with a furrowed brow, "What, you one of the Defias?"

"No, just a traveler who is not so fond of oppressive authority right now. So go ahead and strike back at the ones who have ruined your lives," Kael joked at first, though his voice became colder and colder with every word after that, "Just be careful and don't let it slip up into harming innocents. I hear the Defias is a plague on this land. There are good people here. I won't tell if you join them, in fact I'm all for the idea, but if I run into you and see you harming an innocent soul there will be no mercy."

Kael supported these Humans in getting back at their leaders who had so carelessly cast them aside, but the harming of innocents crossed a definite line. While some might just see this as a black and white issue of thieves versus order, he saw it more as a battle between those in power and those who were powerless. In this case he felt more for the underdog, though that did not mean he would excuse bad behavior not directed at the deserving foe.

"You're a weird guy, Elf," one of the men took the stew and began to back away from Kael, who was beginning to frighten them with his tone, "Thanks for the stew."

"You're welcome. Just be smart with what you choose to do."

The poor mostly had been on the outskirts, so it took a moment for Kael to return to the tower. When he did return though it was to a smiling Hope, who held out a pouch of coins like what he had received before.

"You have a kind heart, Kael'thas. You have done a good thing, today, and that act will reflect back upon you when judgment day comes."

Once again she left without saying much more, but Kael felt no desire to chase her down. She must have her reasons for being so shy, and he wasn't about to go and make her uncomfortable over nothing.

"What an eccentric kid…"

Kael opened the pouch and found not silver pieces inside, but rather gold pieces. He hid the shock from his face quickly though given the hundreds of destitute souls around him, some of whom were considering joining a thieves guild. He didn't think everyone to be bad here, but he was worried that someone unscrupulous would take the gift he was just given.

"Kael, look what I found!"

By the time Kael turned around he was face to face with Trixie, who had run over to him after finally tracking him down. He had been moving around so much she had a little difficulty finding him, and since she hadn't met Hope she was not able to use her to help.

Kael instantly noticed the floating animal by Trixie's side, since it seemed quite interested in floating about in quite the energetic fashion. It being there did not explain it being there though, so Kael decided to confront the mind boggling subject before acknowledging the subject of taking in stray animals, "What is a Mana Wyrm doing here?"

Trixie really didn't care. She had a beautiful and friendly pet now that glowed with magic. Perfect for someone like her, "I don't know, but isn't she pretty?"

Kael had to admit that the animal had some beauty to it with how it shimmered with magic, but he was still worried about the implications of it being here.

"Someone might own her. Have you seen any other Elves?"

Trixie scoffed and crossed her arms, "Are you accusing me of stealing Trixie junior?"

"No, not at all," Kael paused before scrutinizing the abominable name just used, "And we are not naming her Trixie junior."

"I think the name suits her fine," came the obvious disagreement from the first Trixie, who was quite indignant that Kael was not honoring her right as the one who found it to name it.

"And what, pray tell, would you have named it if it was a male?"

"Ka—why do you keep asking me such weird questions?"

So she would have named it Kael Junior. Not obvious or anything. So she was seeing this as their "baby" of sorts? Kael sighed as he realized that this was not the kind of adoption he had meant earlier, as well as that they weren't exactly in the best position to be taking in other mouths to feed.

Still, the fact that Trixie out of nowhere had a Mana Wyrm made Kael unsettled. It wouldn't be this far south if someone didn't bring it this far south, meaning it belonged to someone else, "Did you steal it?"

Trixie became grumpy as she found herself defending her illicit action, "Someone left her out in chains, and she is starving. I couldn't just leave her."

To that Kael did not have a further objection. If they were removing it from the care of someone abusive then perhaps this was for the best, even if it should only last as long as until they returned north, "So what are we going to name her?"

"Lulamoon the third?" Trixie asked cutely, hoping to get this one to work.

Kael glared at her. He knew she was egotistical, but this was just silly, "Trixie."

"What? Lulamoon sounds better than Sunstrider, which is why I used it as our last name."

"I think Trixie Sunstrider would be just fine," Kael said with a smirk, knowing its real meaning would go over Trixie's head given her seeming obliviousness.

As expected Trixie had no real reaction to it, "We'll do that later, but for now we need a name for our new pet. If you are so clever, why don't you come up with one?"

Kael was forced to actually think now. He had taken it for a given that Trixie would put all the effort into this, so he hadn't even come up with a single idea better than Trixie's, "How about…"

The Mana Wyrm began to make noise as if it was voicing its opinion, except it could only make the one noise, "Naaaa…naaaaa…."

The noises together gave Kael an idea, though as he said it he wasn't quite so sure about it, "Na-na?"

Trixie scoffed at the name, "Nana? What, like an old grandma?"

"Nana" began floating around Kael at an excited pace, making it seem like it was displaying approval. Trixie took a step back and gasped, taken aback that the Wyrm didn't like her choices.

"…Trixie Lulamoon the third, please tell me you don't like that silly name?"

"Naaa," the Wyrm bobbed up and down in a manner that resembled a nod. This made Trixie finally throw in the towel, and she groaned as she conceded the naming war.

"Fiiiiiiine, Nana it is."

Kael pointed at Trixie and smiled while giving his first command to their new pet.

"Nana, go to Trixie."

The Mana Wyrm happily floated over to Trixie and brushed up against her face.

"That's a good girl," Trixie laughed as the slippery feeling of the Wyrm tickled her cheek.

Trixie was glad she ditched Kael now. It resulted in a nice pet, even if it didn't like her names for it.

* * *

**_Author's Note: Nana likes going for walks and sleeping at her master's feet in bed. All animals are dogs after all. Especially Nana!_**

**_Has anyone done Deadmines, which is located in Westfall? Where you fight the Defias? Anyone done the questline in Westfall? Just curious._**

**_Thank you for reading, and I hope to hear from you in the reviews below!_**


	13. Rest Experience 3: Heart-Stone

_**A/N: Special thanks to FutureShock and Whitedorumon for your reviews last chapter! The more I hear from everyone the sooner I am able to update.  
**_

_**I noticed while looking at my files that I thought I had posted the last Rest Experience chapter after chapter 8, but hadn't for some reason, so please check out the other chapter I'm releasing today as well, even if it takes place before! My bad for forgetting to submit it despite having uploaded the file.**_

_**I hope you all enjoy, and please leave your thoughts in the reviews below!  
**_

* * *

As Trixie and Kael made their way back to the Saldean farm the former spent the time complaining as she tried to get Nana to do tricks the Wyrm had not been taught yet, and Kael spent it listening to those they passed by. Since hearing some of the poor speak about joining the Defias he was far less trusting of those around them, since the bandits could have a million reasons for coming after him even if it was just by chance. Anybody could be a part of the Defias Brotherhood, and the Defias were quite the threat, so anybody could be a threat.

The long ears belonging to the Elf allowed him to listen in quite well, and two seeming farmers walking the other way gave him some interesting insight despite their hushed whispers.

"What are Elves doing here?"

"Dunno, Furlbrow. I hear a huntin' party is comin' through. Lady leadin' it doesn't seem very friendly."

A lady Elf was hunting for something? Kael's stomach knotted up at that idea, since the coincidence of an Elf looking for something or someone right after they left Silvermoon City where a lady Elf tried capturing them for a bounty was too much to be a coincidence…

"Really? Who could they be hunting?"

"Ehhh, who cares? They're going around and askin' people all kinds of stuff, but it ain't none of our business."

That was all the conversation gave Kael as the two other men left his hearing range, though it was enough to give the issue further thought.

Trixie was still trying to get Nana to roll over in mid-air.

* * *

It took until they returned to the farm for Kael to come to a decision given the information he had. They had found a Mana Wyrm chained up and he had heard about a hunting party going around and looking for them.

"Trixie, we will fulfill our obligation to the Saldeans and then depart tomorrow after we have paid our debt to them."

The more dominant of the two was surprised for her very passive partner to suddenly speak in a commanding, in-charge way. While they were equals in the partnership, Kael had always seemed happy to let Trixie have her way even if he snarked a little along the way.

So, she spoke with a little confusion as she finished making a spot for Nana on their bed, "What? I'm liking it here. And we only just got here."

"Call it a hunch, but chances are we are being hunted."

Trixie laughed haughtily as she made herself comfortable on the modest bed, "Oh please, who could possibly have found us?"

Kael sat down beside her and reached to pet their new companion on the top of its head, "It's not as if we have the undying loyalty of those two woman who helped us secure passage here. They easily could have let it slip that they let us travel here, and all it would take is someone intent on finding us to hear that…"

"But we took the last Dragonhawk, right?" Trixie reasoned, still wanting to stay.

"It also returned home, not to mention that there must be other Dragonhawks in other settlements nearby Silvermoon."

That elicited a sigh from Trixie, who couldn't argue back against the possibility that someone may have found them who was less than friendly, "I hate it when you're right…"

"Then you must despise me, because I usually am."

Trixie shoved him playfully on the shoulder, "Hey, I'm the haughty, arrogant one."

"No, you're the haughti_er_, _more_ arrogant one. You just make me seem completely selfless in comparison."

Her laughter and amused tone made Kael smile, "Flattery will get you everywhere with me."

He laughed back and brought a hand up to pet her hair, "I'll keep that in mind, my egotistical friend."

Trixie squirmed out of his reach to escape the tussling of her hair, "Don't push it though. I know where you sleep."

Kael glanced down at Trixie's curved features and let out a joking sigh, "Uncomfortably beside you, I may say."

The reason she made him uncomfortable was beyond Trixie's comprehension, but she still felt a little guilty for the bruise located on Kael's neck that the shredders didn't cause.

As such, she went into denial about what she believed he might be referencing when Kael actually had no idea that she had nibbled on his neck the night before, "Hey, it's not like I elbow you or bite you in my sleep or anything like that. What do you mean uncomfortable?"

A knock on their open door interrupted their playful argument and revealed the presence of two onlookers who were holding some boxes in their arms.

"We heard something about tomorrow. Planning on leaving so soon?" Salma asked the two Elves as they got up to welcome the owners of the house into the room.

Trixie nodded, finally verbally agreeing to Kael's plan, "Yes, unfortunately."

Salma nodded understandingly and held out the box in her arms to Kael, "Well then, if that's the case, here is your outfit we were working on. I just put the finishing touches on it for you."

Inside of the box was the red mixture of cloth and leather that made up Kael's light armor. It would protect him far better than his ragged robes given the padding, though it ran opposite to Trixie's own outfit given how hers had none…not that she needed padding in the way some females would have it. Kael had not been skilled enough to even weave leather into the set of clothing he made for Trixie, and so she was stuck with plainer and less protective gear.

Of course, Kael never intended to let someone lay a hand on her, so perhaps it was best they used what leather they had in his own clothing.

Farmer Saldean withdrew something from the long box he brought upstairs, revealing a worn sword, "And, if you are going to be leaving us in the near future, take this blade with you."

He placed it into a sheath and held it out to Kael, as it was a bastard sword that Saldean believed too large for a lady like Trixie. None of them knew at the time she still had the strength of her equine form, so they all acted under the incorrect assessment of her physical abilities.

"I know you have your magic, but I would hate for any harm to come to you," Saldean explained as Kael thanked him with a half bow.

Feeling a little left out in terms of gifts, Trixie decided to make a case for herself not being left defenseless, "May I perhaps have something to protect myself as well? I would hate for Kael to have to do all of the fighting."

"Don't worry, dear," Salma retrieved a blade from the box she held and gave it to Trixie, "This is a dagger we found hidden in the house one day. It probably belongs to someone we've housed, but it's been years so I don't think they'd mind."

The blade was broken, as if it was actually once a sword and later refurbished to be usable as a dagger instead. The T shaped handle had a small red gem right below the blade, and the small bulbous end to the handle made it easy to grip for someone as unaccustomed as Trixie since her hand would have a hard time slipping off.

Even now with a weapon of her own Trixie felt guilty at receiving this charity of sorts. Sure, they worked for their keep, but it was all because of the goodwill being shown to them, "I feel kind of bad about all you have given us."

"Think nothing of it. We like showing our gratitude to those who aid us. You have already done more than anyone else has for us in years," Salma said with a smile on her face and in her voice. Having a helping hand was nice, especially since the orphans outside of Hope were too young to really do much.

Her husband spoke next, bringing a hand to his chin as he thought back to then, "Yes, and come to think of it we had the pleasure of meeting Elves too. High Elves, much like yourselves, though they came with a few Humans too. Five people with a mission from Stormwind."

Trixie and Kael looked to one another with the same tenseness to them. Saldean's voice had sounded a bit fake at the mention of High Elves, as if he was mentally correcting himself about the first word and finishing with the second.

It was Trixie who mustered the courage to admit what they both realized the Saldeans likely had figured out in one way or another, "I…I am afraid we have not been entirely honest with you."

Salma placed the box in her arms down so she could raise a hand to silence Trixie, a smile still on the kind hostess's face, "Don't worry. We know why you kept your identities hidden. We may be a little bit removed from the capital and politics, but we know the name of the Lord of the Blood Elves when we hear it."

"I suppose we should be more careful with our identities in the future," Trixie sheepishly replied all the while mentally kicking herself for not coming up with a fake name for Kael, since that was what seemed to have given them away.

Noticing the sudden worry on Kael's face that came up with the revelation of his identity, Saldean spoke up and placed a reassuring hand on the Elf's shoulder as he used the other to lean the sword's box against the wall, "Don't worry son, we won't let anybody know. I think you are smart to leave sooner rather than later, since some passerby's came asking about some uncomfortable things. We didn't say anything, but that doesn't mean they won't return and find out on their own. I think you have bounty hunters looking for you."

Kael smiled at the man and found himself once again bowing his head.

"Very well. I think we should stay tomorrow and do whatever you would have us do though, as I would feel bad about leaving you all as you are. The situation at Sentinel Hill gave me a true insight into the plight of your people. Anything we can do to help you before our departure shall be done."

Saldean laughed at the idea of being bowed to by royalty, and even more so at the idea of telling him what to do.

The farmer removed a slip of paper from his pocket and handed it off to Kael, "I actually put together a list for you of people and things you may want to look into, though don't stay so long as to put yourself at risk, you hear?"

Kael nodded and offered a hand out to shake hands after receiving the list of tasks, "Thank you for everything, Mr. Saldean."

"And thank you for giving a little hope to this backwards community. You are welcome here anytime, so don't make yourself a stranger when you are through with your days of hiding."

The married couple left the couple that argued as if they were married, and after they were alone Kael gave the paper a look along with Trixie.

"Speak to Gryan Stoutmantle, check out Moonbrook, investigate propaganda, learn about the past, find missing Stormwind Captain..."

It sounded like it would be a busy day ahead of them, so some relaxation ought to be in order. They'd need it to get everything done at an early enough hour to leave before their pursuer located them.

Kael was about ready to get ready for bed when another voice piped up.

"Is that a Mana Wyrm?"

Trixie had been about to close the door when suddenly Katz, Letz, and Kikka were in the doorway and being nosy. Katz had been the one to speak up, as he was the tallest and had been able to see the Wyrm the best as his two adopted siblings each looked in with their heads atop one another like a totem pole.

The fact that the child knew what the animal comfortably napping on a blanket was made Trixie quite confused. How could he possibly know something like that? "Why yes, it is. How did you know about that? I did not think them to be local to here."

Katz shook his head as he and his siblings entered the room to get a better view, "No, they live around magic places I think, but there's a Hearthstone card for them!"

"Heart-stone?" Kael questioned, unfamiliar with the term.

Letz spoke up next as he pulled out a stack of cards with light blue backs with a blonde border to them, "Yeah, Hearthstone! It's a card game with all sorts of creatures and monsters we play!"

A game with creatures in it, including cute Mana Wyrms? That piqued the interest of Trixie, who gestured to the table of the room so she could perhaps see a demonstration.

"Can I see this game?"

Kikka grabbed Trixie by her pants and tried to tug her in the direction of the table, "Sure, we can teach you how to play!"

Trixie let herself be led over as Letz and Katz got out a lot of cards they seemingly had stuffed in their pockets, and after a minute they had a few decks of cards arranged on the table.

Katz held out a card as he took a seat across from where Trixie set herself, "Here is the Hearthstone card of the Mana Wyrm."

Trixie took the card into her own hands and began to read it. There was a crystal on the top left with the number one over it, a small sword with the number one over it, a picture of a small drop of blood on the lower right with the number three, a picture of a Mana Wyrm covered in light purple energy on the top half, and some more text on the bottom half.

"Gains +1 attack when you play a spell…" Trixie, still new to it all, had no idea what that meant, "What constitutes a spell in this game?"

Letz spoke up as he stood to the side of the table in-between Trixie and Katz, "There are three main types of cards: creatures, spells, and…uh…"

"Weapons!" Kikka piped up cheerfully despite the content of her statement.

Katz continued from there, "Yeah, and there are nine classes to play from which all have different cards only they can use. Some cards can be used by any class, but some like Mana Wyrm only can be used by one. My class, Hunter, gets a lot of beasts to use instead!"

Trixie snorted at the mention of Huntards, though she continued to listen because Kikka pulled on the side of her shirt to get her attention.

"Mages get Mana Wyrm, so you should play as the pretty lady!" Kikka sort-of explained as she held out one of the decks to Trixie.

That made Trixie scoff, "I am a pretty lady."

Once Trixie had a deck in front of her Katz took it as an indication that they could begin playing the game, "Okay, I'll teach you on the go. Let's play!"

The game was quite simple to pick up and the rules simplistic, and Trixie found herself getting the hang of it quite quickly. Kael sat to the side with a more bored expression, not really amused by this sort of thing but still happy just because it was a relaxing moment.

Well, that and it was funny to see Trixie get riled up over a card game.

A Mana Wyrm card played by Trixie attacked Katz, but Katz flipped a card over he had played earlier to reveal its effect, "Misdirection! When I get attacked, your creature hits something else randomly!"

Trixie frowned as she looked at the board full of creatures and the two cards used to represent them, a woman mage and an orange skinned being wearing an animal skin, "How do we decide what it'll hit?"

Letz pulled something from his pocket, "Well, we'll roll a dice. Just gotta give everything a number, then we roll it. I made some for all sorts of occasions!"

Trixie accepted this method of randomly determining things, and so after they gave everything a number she rolled the dice and hoped for the best.

Katz laughed childishly at the result of the Mana Wyrm's now redirected attack, "And it hits you directly!"

Trixie turned to the side of the room with the bed and frowned. Kael was sitting on the bed and stroking the malnourished animal that they had fed some scraps after coming inside, "Nana, how could you?"

The animal woke from its brief sleep and looked up at her blankly with glowing eyes, "Naaa?"

"Don't give me that look. This is all your fault that I'm losing now. You shouldn't hit your owner like that. Say sorry."

Kael sighed as Trixie chastised the oblivious animal, "Trixie, you do know it likely doesn't have a clue what's going on, right?"

"Quiet Kael, I am playing a children's card game. This is very serious business."

There would be no reasoning with her, so Kael just let it be and let her resume her game. After a few more turns of it Trixie drew a new card that she hadn't read before. Its name was Pyroblast, and its picture was that of a giant fireball.

"Deal ten damage…"

Trixie had a thought. They started with thirty health, which meant that this would take out an entire third of Katz's health…which might be all he had left.

Remembering how he took some extra damage from a creature he hit with a weapon instead of killing with a minion, Trixie smiled at her opponent, "Katz, how much health do you have?"

"Ten," he smiled. She only had two, and the Hunter class was allowed to do that much damage each turn by default. He would win when it was his turn.

If he had one more health this wouldn't work, as Trixie had no creatures left. She let out a relieved sigh as she placed the card down and removed his ten remaining health, "Oh, good, I win. I was worried there for a moment."

"Wait, what?!" Katz replied in the most shocked voice he could muster. He had thought he was going to win, but instead this complete beginner defeated him.

Trixie thought back to what gave her the opportunity to win. If Katz had just traded one of his many creatures for her own instead of using the weapon card he would have won. Still, despite being proud she won Trixie did not want to make him feel bad about it, "You shouldn't have hit my creature with that weapon I think. Good game though. It must have been beginner's luck."

"Oh come on Katz, you lost to a newb!" Letz laughed at the sight of his brother's utter humiliation.

Katz tried to save face to little avail, "Hey, I was going easy on her, okay?"

"Loser big-brother!" Kikka chimed in.

"Hey, I beat you every time we play, so what does that make you?"

Kikka and Katz stuck their tongues out at eachother, after which the boy shook his head and decided to avenge his loss.

"Let's start up another game. Best two out of three!"

Trixie had forgotten about her companion while she was playing, so she turned back to him to offer him a chance at the game, "Kael, are you going to play?"

He smirked, enjoying the act of spectating more than he thought he would playing, "It is more amusing to watch."

His eyes flickered over the one representing Trixie's character, the mage…it looked very familiar. Like, Kael felt a pang he couldn't describe as he continued to look at the woman pictured.

"Though, that card…"

Kikka noticed his gaze and took it off the table to bring to him.

"That's Jaina! She's like the strongest mage there is!"

Trixie had been unknowingly studying the woman pictured the whole time, and now that she heard the name she couldn't help but think about what it meant. That was Jaina? She had silver and blonde hair, as compared to Trixie's silver and light blue, and her eyes even glowed like an Elf's despite being a Human.

While not the same, Trixie could see herself being mistaken for the other woman if one wasn't looking too closely.

"Now that I think about it, she looks quite similar to me…"

Kael once upon a time loved Jaina, even if he didn't remember it now. Trixie knew that though, and now that she could see the woman…perhaps the reason Kael was so willing to do what she said was because she resembled the woman he loved? That idea unsettled Trixie, who didn't want to think his friendly affection was secondhand.

She hadn't noticed Katz start their game, but there wasn't anything she could do the first turn so she passed it to him, "Ahem. All done. Your turn."

As Katz began to think about what to do on his turn, Trixie tried to ignore the now quiet Kael and the cause of his discomfort that Kikka since returned to the table, "What classes do you two play as?"

Kikka smiled brightly at Trixie, "I'm a Priest! We heal stuff and have really big minions."

Letz was less sure about how to explain his class, "I play Warrior. We…uh…hit things."

Kikka laughed as she thought about the only other player they knew, "Big sister Hope plays Rogue! They're really tricky to play, but really good right now!"

Katz sighed as he remembered all the times he lost to her. As in every time they ever played, "She always beats us, even when we work together…"

To win so often meant that the teenaged girl must be good at the game. Or that she was simply better at making decisions in it than the younger children. Likely both, "Oh, she must be quite skilled then. What is her favorite card?"

Perhaps learning the girl's favorite card would give Trixie some insight on what was good to play in the game.

"Deadly poison!" Kikka offered as an answer only for Letz to speak up.

"No, it's her Defias Ringleader. She's got a sick turn one combo for it!"

Katz spoke up next to offer his own answer, "Nuh-uh, it's that rare, golden, enchanted legendary creature, VanCleef! Remember how hard she worked to get that card?"

Wasn't VanCleef the now deceased leader of the Defias Brotherhood? The last two suggestions made Trixie laugh, as it showed a bit of irony and humor on the part of the teenaged girl.

"Hah, what an ironic girl, winning a game with representations of the local menace."

Katz didn't listen as he announced one of his creatures was now attacking.

"Billy, attack!"

Trixie read the card he was attacking with, a monster with a single point of health named Murloc Raider…it looked like a green humanoid frog-thing holding a sword. And he had named it Billy apparently.

Trixie took the small amount of damage "Billy" could do, but she wasn't worried. While Hunters could do two free damage to the enemy's life, a mage could do a single damage to anything of their choice.

As such she targeted the Murloc with her ability, a sad smile upon her face as she destroyed the creature, "Sorry, Billy."

"Billy…" Katz whined softly as his weak creature was felled instantly.

The rest of the game went the same way as the first with the more experienced Katz gaining the upper hand, only for his inability to think two steps ahead to cause him to lose again. Trixie had to admit he seemed smart, at least in competition with the similarly young siblings she had to compare him to, but he was by no means wise.

After winning the second game Trixie decided to shut things down before Katz asked to do three out of five. Trixie needed to go to bed so they could get up early, while the children out to not stay up too late playing around.

"I think that's enough for one night. Kael and I have a big day ahead of us tomorrow, so how about you three go on and get ready for bed?"

"Okay…" the three children complained, though they all relented. They took their cards and things and began to leave before Katz turned around and handed a card out to Trixie.

"Oh, Katz, what's this?"

"I have a spare card that I don't need. You can keep it."

Trixie looked down at the card, the Murloc Raider from before, and smiled at him for his kindness, "Thank you, Katz."

"I named it Billy the totem slayer. I figured you could probably make better use of him."

Katz moved to leave after handing off the card, but he was soon replaced by Kikka standing in front of Trixie while nervously looking down at the ground.

"Aunty Trixie, is it true you're leaving tomorrow?"

Trixie bent down to be at the young girl's level. The kids didn't seem that bad, and they all seemed nice, so Trixie didn't want them feeling bad about her leaving, "Yes, I am. I have some very important things I need to do, but I'll come visit when I can, okay?"

"Promise?" Kikka hopefully asked.

"Promise," Trixie replied with a nod.

Once the kids were gone Trixie closed the door and locked it, letting out a sigh of relief as she did so. It was about time to relax and she didn't feel like she could do much more in a single day. After all, she had woken up only to then go fight, after which point she was knocked out from an explosion. Her body ached.

After Trixie turned out the lights and got into bed Kael finally spoke, having overcome the strange feeling in his gut, "See? Kids aren't so bad."

Trixie had to begrudgingly agree. These ones weren't bad, but she had a feeling her aversion to children came from experiences with bad ones, "Eh, you're right, but I think I'm going to start drafting names. Katz and Letz just sound like their parents were lazy and making up words."

"And Trixie is so much better?"

"Infinitely. I am the Great and Powerful Trixie after all."

Some time passed by as the two tried to fall asleep, but their aching bodies kept them up a bit longer than they each would have liked. With time though came the final event of their day, for their heard faint footsteps outside the room coming up the stairs. The lightness of them reminded Kael of the stealthiness of the eldest daughter of the house with how she could so swiftly slip by people. Perhaps it was fitting she played a Rogue in that game, which he imagined was some kind of stealthy class.

The footsteps were not all that caught the attention of the two attentive Elves with their large ears. What was more attention grabbing and more disturbing was the soft sobs following it. It wasn't a sustained sound of crying, but rather like Hope was trying to not cry and was simply unable to keep herself from doing so.

"Hope? What's the matter, dear?" they could hear Salma ask, though the closing of a door kept Kael or Trixie from hearing the response if there even was one.

"Why's she crying?" Trixie whispered, now concerned about whatever could have happened to the girl. She hadn't met her yet, but that didn't mean she wasn't able to worry for her.

Kael felt a different feeling seize his gut than the one that had stricken him before, now feeling unease as ideas flooded into his mind, "Something may have happened after I left…"

"How old is she again?" Trixie yawned, her body's exhaustion finally catching up with her.

"Mid-teens I believe…" Kael was beginning to drift off as well. They could see how Hope was doing the day after. He wouldn't want to intrude on it though, since it could be private.

"I haven't even seen her yet. I hope no-one hurt her…"

Trixie drifted off after that and was soon joined by Kael.

It was a quiet night after that point, though perhaps it would have been better if it wasn't.

* * *

_** Author's Note: Next chapter we're really going to kick off the Westfall arc for real, since it's about time we meet our local brotherhood of miscreants and thieves!**_

_**Remember to check out the last Rest Experience as well! Sorry for forgetting to include it before.**_

_**Thank you for reading, and I hope to hear from you in the reviews below!**_


	14. Level 13-14: V with a Vendetta

**_A/N: Special thanks to FutureShock for your review last chapter!  
_**

**I hope you all enjoy, and please leave your thoughts in the reviews below!**

* * *

"Morning…"

Trixie only had woken up as the light of the day beat down on her face from the window nearby. Kael had opened it up to illuminate their room in the hopes that she would wake up without him having to actually rouse her. He knew she would whine if he did it in a direct manner, so his chances were better with this method.

He turned around to face the bed and smile at her as Trixie moved to rub her sore eyes, "Goodmorning, drowsy horse."

"Hey—" Trixie began to whine until she noticed that she was still in her Elven body, "I'm not even in that form!"

"It's more entertaining to have a little fun with it than truly delve into the philosophical questions and boundaries that stem from the reality of your situation."

She rolled her eyes at him, unamused by his response, "Is that fancy talk for 'I am making fun of you because I do not know how to deal with you not really being an Elf'?"

Kael shrugged as he turned back to the window as Trixie rose from bed, realizing that she was going to be mostly naked and would be getting dressed, "More or less."

Trixie started putting on the clothes made for her by Kael and Salma when her mind turned to the elder woman: why hadn't there been a wakeup call this time? Before their hosts woke them up in the morning, but the shade of the light outside seemed to indicate that it was far past morning.

"It looks like its midday. How late did they let us sleep today?"

Trixie tapped Kael on the shoulder to indicate he could look, and when he did so he gave another shrug to further reveal his current lackadaisical and placated attitude, "It seems no-one is in a rush to get up today. I'm personally fine with that, but I'm not going to waste it all laying in bed."

Trixie nodded to that, since they agreed to leave as soon as their obligations were done with. The sleeping Mana Wyrm over on their bed was all the indication that they needed that their past was catching up to them here.

Seeing as it would be rude to leave without saying goodbye to the seemingly absent Saldeans, Trixie felt fine leaving Nana to sleep. The poor animal had ate nearly endlessly the night before after Trixie spared her own rations for it, Kael doing so as well to not appear selfish even if it made him starve the night. Whatever Nana went through before them though had exhausted it, and the Wyrm slept deeply that night and was still completely knocked out as she breathed softly on the sheets.

Trixie had brought over something from Kael's own bag of clothing to go on top of his full set of red cloth-leather gear, "Put on your bandana."

Kael took the cloth gifted to him by the Innkeeper by Silvermoon City from Trixie's hand, the sight of him reminding him of the conversation he had with Hope about how it'd make him look like one of the Defias Brotherhood. He acquiesced to Trixie's wishes and pulled it around his head, his hands running back against his long blonde hair as he tied it behind his face.

With it covering half his face like it had when they visited Silvermoon, Trixie giggled at how silly he looked, "Even with that thing on you wouldn't get away as a bandit. Your eyes are glowing and your eyebrows are the size of a small animal."

Kael brought an index finger out to poke Trixie's eyebrow, "Yours are not any better," he grinned beneath the mask, knowing that she couldn't see it but he did hope it came out in his tone, "And I believe there might be a few neigh-sayers in the Defias Brotherhood about a horse joining their ranks."

Trixie ignored his pun and turned her back to him, her hands moving to her hips as she stood with her nose upturned, "As if I would join them. I am a leader, not a follower."

"As I am learning more and more every day," Kael joked, though it made Trixie go on the defensive nonetheless.

"Partners are equal, so I don't mind sharing dominance with you. It doesn't actually put you any above me, you're still just on the same level."

"And when I'm the crowned Prince of the Blood Elves?"

That got Trixie to turn around, a broad grin plastered on her soft face, "Then I am going to be the equal of the Prince, should our partnership last that long."

A sudden bout of nervousness gripped Kael's stomach. He wanted this partnership to be of a permanent variety, and yet there was the very real possibility it wouldn't end up that way. She sought fame, he sought a crown. She would need to be audacious and draw crowds, he would need to sneak by and accomplish his goals in clandestine manners on occasion. Could they find a balance that would suit them both?

"I…would hope it does," was the stalled and very late response from Kael.

"As would I," Trixie stiffly agreed, feeling some nervousness of her own now that she thought about what she said.

To step off of the uncomfortable subject, Kael took out the note given to him by their host the previous night and began to read from it the list of tasks held on the paper, "Speak to Gryan Stoutmantle, check out Moonbrook, investigate propaganda, learn about the past, find missing Stormwind Captain..."

Trixie whistled at the long list, "Sounds like we have a busy day ahead of us. You hear anything from the Saldeans?"

"No, haven't heard a rumble in the house since I woke up. I think we're alone for now."

Trixie strolled over to the hallway, at which point a purple flash preceded her vanishing from all sight, but a crash downstairs met Kael's ears.

Before Kael could question it, Trixie stumbled back up the staircase and nearly collapsed in front of the door. She was smiling despite the exhausted look of her body, what with it tilted over and about to collapse underneath itself, but she was indeed happy.

"You would…happen to be right," Trixie wheezed out as she took in a few deep breaths to revitalize herself.

Kael already knew the answer, but he felt obligated to acknowledge what she just did, "Did you just teleport?"

"Why yes, I did. A new trick for me to use and abuse as I see fit!"

Teleportation was quite the ability, and Kael was quite fine with Trixie being willing to utilize its often unspoken potential, "Fighting would be quite trivial if one could just teleport around every few moments."

"Yes…it would…"

Kael narrowed his eyes as Trixie suddenly stopped herself from hurling onto the floor, making him realize that perhaps this newest spell of Trixie's was not something they ought to jump right into. Some caution could be useful for such a powerful ability.

"Doing it made you feel sick," Kael noted as he approached her and offered her a hand to get up.

Trixie swatted his hand away and tried to raise herself up to her full height, her voice complaining in indignation caused by her condition, "No!"

In trying to get up Trixie instead fell backwards onto her backend, and after a small bounce that left her sprawled on the ground she lost the haughty air she had been pretending to have.

"…yes."

Kael shook his head and sighed at her stubbornness. Would she ever feel comfortable not being in power all of the time? It was a facet of life after all, and it didn't hurt to have help from others when they were willing to give it.

With Kael's aid Trixie stood back up and the two prepared themselves to go. The day might have been half over, but they were nowhere near done "Bye Nana. We'll be back later. You get your rest, okay?"

The Mana Wyrm was not in much of a state to respond, though it was likely it would say something along the lines of "Naaa" if it could.

The Saldeans may be gone to some unknown place, but that wouldn't stop Trixie from doing the tasks set forth by them as final payment for their kindness. Then it would be time to hit the road and leave Westfall behind.

At least, that was the plan.

* * *

The man Gryan Stoutmantle was relatively easy to find at Sentinel Hill because the basic information scribbled down by Saldean was enough: a man in his about 50's who is wearing silver armor with blue trim, a Stormwind tabard with a lion's head on it as the symbol of the city, and a large golden shoulderplate that looked like an eagle. Not many of those were walking around Sentinel Hill, so after the short journey to the military outpost Trixie approached him with her partner in-tow.

"Hello, my name is Trixie Lulamoon. My partner and I are here on behalf of a family who lives nearby, the Saldeans. The farmer asked us to help you out should you require any aid."

The military man paused to think as he looked over the two travelers, "Hmmm, let me think…" his eyes lit up as he came up with a task for them, "Oh, I know how you can aid us. We have had a camp near Moonbrook for quite some time now. One of my best soldiers works the area along with a company of Sentinel Hill troopers. Report to Captain Alpert now and find out if he has any news about the happenings in Moonbrook."

"Go to person A, go to person B…what are we, couriers?" Trixie complained under her breath, quickly receiving an elbow to her side for her not-productive words from Kael.

The Stormwind Marshal rose an eyebrow at Trixie as she sent a look at Kael, "What was that?"

Trixie grabbed Kael and began to drag him away, "Oh, nothing, nothing. We'll be on our way to Captain Albert. Thank you!"

Kael sighed at being dragged around but in the end did not fight her because he had no desire to remain there any longer than necessary. More time lingering was more time to be located and hunted down after all, and they had received their new orders…which went right along with what Saldean wrote down. As if he had anticipated where their paths would take them. Pretty insightful for a common farmer one might note, but it was ultimately meaningless in the current situation.

Once they were a good ways away from Sentinel Hill Kael pulled out the map he had been carrying around and began to look for Moonbrook. After a quick check he found that Trixie had brought them the wrong direction, of course.

"I believe it is south-west from here, my smart mouthed friend, not east. I don't blame you for not knowing though, since it's not like you failed to say go west to something named Westeros."

Trixie ignored his overall comment because of the heat beaming down on her. The added heat felt like more than she could handle and she would chalk it up to the teleportation from earlier, though her dark colored clothing did little to help her comfortableness, "Ugh, if it wasn't broad daylight I could make this so much faster on four legs."

Kael didn't even look up from the map as he commented, "Are you saying you want me to ride you, but you're afraid of doing it in public?"

Trixie's mumbling as they changed directions gave Kael time to realize what he just said, slap his forehead, and sigh. Trixie was rubbing off on him, and not in a good way.

"Why are you hitting your forehead?"

"Nothing."

* * *

Moonbrook looked terrible. If the military weakness of Sentinel Hill was bad for such a series of structures, Moonbrook's overall appearance matched the level of security Sentinel Hill had. Westfall truly was facing economic troubles with its poor, as Moonbrook appeared about ready to fall apart with shoddy buildings and homeless people walking the streets.

Oh, and leather wearing brigands.

"This is our town, scrub!"

A man in a dark colored hood and clothing approached Trixie and Kael as they tried to enter the town, but before the man's raspy voice could say anything else another chimed in as a man with similar clothing and a red bandana joined him.

"Yeah, beat it!" the second man said is a more nasal tone. He drew a dagger from his pocket while the other man, seemingly the ringleader given his more in-charge presence, drew a wooden club and levied it at them.

Moonbrook was a bad neighborhood.

Trixie gestured to her partner and then to herself in an attempt to calm things down, "I am sure my friend would love to beat it, but we have business here…"

If it had been left at that perhaps an arrangement could have been made, but Trixie's mouth had to keep running.

"So I'm sorry, dreg, but we will be passing."

The Ringleader took a step forward and prepared to swing his weapon, "What did you call me, girl?"

Kael shoving Trixie back made the club wielding man stop his swing, a moment of opportunity Kael used to speak up as well. He danged a bag of coins out with one hand as he smiled at the man…

"Now, now, there's no need to fight—"

He cut himself off by using the other hand to grab the sword sheathed over his back to swing down at the man's arm and bludgeon it with the mostly dull weapon. The thug cried out in pain as he was slammed with the weapon's might to the surprise of him, his partner, and Trixie.

Not practiced in the blade, Kael had trouble wielding it and had to fight to raise it back up for another strike. By now the man he hit was recovering and the other was rushing forward to attack Kael.

"Trixie, now is the time to do something, I've lost the element of surprise!"

Trixie snapped out of her momentary confusion to fling a shard of ice at the second thug, catching him in the shoulder and driving him back as the first swung a fist at Kael's face. He had dropped his club after his arm became stricken with pain from the hit it took, leaving him with only his wounded arm and his other to strike with.

Kael parried the punch with his blade, causing the thug to hurt his other hand in the process. This didn't stop the man from still trying to throttle Kael, but a knee to the thug's gut caught him off guard. The accompanying smashing of a fist and a sword's hilt knocked the man over onto his side, effectively ending his threat.

As Kael utilized a powerful kick to knock out his downed and disorientated opponent he looked up to see that Trixie had made her opponent slip and knock himself out using her ice. Simple, but effective, and that was what mattered.

The two noticed that nearby them was a small settlement on the side of the town which seemed to be the Stormwind representation for the community. A few tents was all it really amounted to beyond the soldiers posted there, and they all seemed quite busy discussing something…which would explain why none of them noticed the very brief fighting encounter Trixie and Kael just went through.

Of course, neither of the two Elves knew that such bandits and thieves were so common that the Stormwind soldiers were afraid to oppose one of them lest the entirety of them decide that they no longer desire Stormwind busybodies poking through their affairs.

Trixie waited for the conversation between the soldiers to continue until the point she heard the mention of the name Alpert, at which point she interrupted them all by approaching and clearing her throat, "Hello Captain, Marshal Brian Stantlermittens sent us here to help you in whatever capacity you need."

The captain was wearing an outfit and tabard similar to the Marshal's, albeit less lustrous and with better taste given its more standard appearance. He was previously enraptured by what he was discussing with his fellow soldiers until Trixie's voice caught his attention along with the word "Marshal". This was enough to get him to turn and face Trixie, recognize help when he's seen it, and begin speaking to Trixie and Kael with some sudden familiarity.

"The natives are restless, travelers. I don't know what's going on, but homeless activity in this area has quadrupled in the past two days. If I didn't know any better I'd say they were planning something..."

While glad he was at least accepting of their aid, Trixie was a bit put off by his blanket statement concerning the homeless. Sure, she didn't feel comfortable around them especially after the very recent run-in with two dregs, but it felt a little prejudiced to just go out and suspect them of some conspiracy.

Not noticing her unease, Alpert continued to speak as his fellow soldiers left to go do other non-productive things, "We've noticed a rise in violent acts amongst the homeless of the area. Something or someone is getting them all riled up. Now whoever is behind all this is getting more organized. Just recently a group of thugs came through here handing out pamphlets."

Trixie looked to Kael and they both in turn looked over to the town: many more people like the thugs they just took care of stood about as if they were guarding the town from anyone they deemed a threat. What could get bandits so defensive if they weren't being actively invaded? The soldiers seemingly were not new to the scene given the weathered look of their tents, so they wouldn't be the cause…

Without waiting for input from either Trixie or Kael the Captain from Stormwind pointed them towards Moonbrook and ordered them, "Enter Moonbrook and look for evidence. Propaganda, leaflets, whatever...bring whatever you find back to me. Maybe we can find the source through the writings."

Just wanting it to be done with, Trixie and her partner just accepted the command and began to approach the town. They'd grab anything suspicious and just bring it back. That'd about settle them with this guy, and then they could go back to the farm and say goodbye to the Saldeans who were likely back from wherever they had gone.

The homeless citizens of the town didn't seem to really care about Trixie or Kael and they ignored them as the two began to look around the small town. With a nod Trixie gestured to a random building that they could inspect, and with a nod back the two found themselves inside of it.

Of course, they didn't expect three armed thugs to be inside the entrance seemingly waiting for them.

"Where do you think you're goin'?" one of the men growled at the duo, his question punctuated by the advancing of the other two men towards the Elves.

Trixie took a step back as she tried to find a way around resorting to bloodshed, "Ummmm…" she bit her lip as she realized she had nothing to convince them that she was there for anything other than being nosy, "Okay, I have no excuse. Kind of run out of those after all the lying I've been doing."

Kael would have faltered if not for the two slowly approaching thugs from across the inside of what appeared to be a run down chapel of sorts.

"This is the end of the line, pal!" one yelled as he drew a blade and lunged at Kael, who had moved to put himself in the way of Trixie.

As he made this movement Trixie prepared the spell she had used that morning and readied herself to be in a position to attack when it activated, "Blink and you'll miss me!"

She disappeared in a flash as Kael sidestepped the thug's wild lunge, only to then swing his sword down at the stumbling man's leg as he swept past him. This took the man's leg out from underneath him and he fell without any grace onto the ground.

By then Trixie had reappeared behind where the three men had started. Once again corporeal, she fired off a large chunk of ice at the next man attacking Kael, the blast knocking the man off balance and allowing Kael to swing his sword up to connect with the side of the man's cheek. A sickening snap could be heard across the building as the dull blade smashed the man forcefully, though Trixie's words at the time were an odd counterpoint to the attack because of how she followed up her previous statement.

"Haha, it's funny because the name of the spell is 'blink' or something like that."

The final man was caught in-between them and did not move, his weary eyes looking between the two opponents he was faced with as he developed some kind of plan.

Kael did not want to unleash his fire attacks because they could set the building aflame, and that would not only hinder their investigation but also draw the attention of everyone in the nearby area to this location. As such he patiently approached the final man to lessen the gap between them, "Trixie, it's severely less funny if you explain the joke."

The final foe used the momentary diversion of attention to hurl his dagger at Kael, nicking him in the shoulder and causing Trixie to become distracted by the sight of her partner growling in pain. This in turn left her vulnerable to the enemy spinning around and throwing a follow up knife at her. Disorientated by her teleportation she was not able to purposefully dodge it…

But because she was barely standing at all she lurched to the side when she tried to move that direction, the knife slicing through some of the cloth of her outfit but doing no actual damage to her.

"Behind you!"

As Trixie's yell Kael ducked down as he spun around and swung his sword one armed. He did so without any kind of aim, and in doing so he clobbered the first thug in the neck and face as the sword wildly lashed out. The man slumped over as he lost consciousness.

Seeing that the third thug was about to use this opportunity to grab the knife in Kael's shoulder and stab him with it, Trixie yelled out as she called forth the energy to use a spell, "Oh no you don't, Gikor!"

From her position on the ground Trixie took the man's legs and then also froze them in place as her lob of ice exploded around his lower body.

With the man downed, Kael hovered his sword over the thug's neck, clearly contemplating swinging it down and ending the life of his adversary. Trixie could see the pragmatic side of her partner rearing up, and her own moral sensibilities rose up as well in response.

"Kael…"

With a sigh, the future lord of the Blood Elves ripped the blade from his wounded shoulder and tossed it aside. He once again utilized a strong kick to render the fallen foe unconscious, not wanting to risk him making a racket. He had partially wanted to end the man's life because of how he had nearly killed Trixie if not for her trip, but that revenge was not to be had because of the same woman.

"I will stay my hand for you any day, but I will not restrain myself if doing so endangers you."

No longer in any immediate danger, Trixie decided to play around a bit as she got up, "Oh, and if something were to harm me?" she laughed as she gestured to the three goons they had managed to defeat with relative ease despite the number disadvantage, "What if one of these idiots managed to do that?"

Kael sheathed his sword as he turned back to the open entrance to see if anyone had been drawn to the commotion. Such was the town that swords clashing and pained grunts drew no attention from the inhabitants.

"I would take the appropriate measures to exact vengeance on their entire organization. Once those who did the deed were punished, the others would be brought to heel and suffer for allowing their members to commit such an action."

The measured and levelness of Kael's tone put Trixie off-guard. The fact that he cared about her enough to exact vengeance upon those who would bring harm to her was nice, but the matter-of-fact manner of it with how thought out it sounded made it kind of scary at the same time, "I'm not sure if I should be relieved or worried."

He turned around to give her a cheeky grin, "Both is a fine response. Just know that I would not permit any harm upon you, as well as that I am glad you are not injured."

"Chivalry at its finest," Trixie scoffed while shooting him a smug grin back. After a moment though it faded into a face of minor concern and worry, just a hint at what she must have been feeling inside, "Just don't do anything one might consider reckless on my behalf."

The chapel fell silent for a minute as the two began searching through the room for anything like what the Captain was looking for, though once something was located Trixie took the first opportunity to wave it around.

"This looks like an informational pamphlet!"

After locating it she began to read it aloud with Kael coming to join her.

"Give a man a tabard and he will pledge his undying loyalty to your cause. These men are now government sheep who care not for your hardships. They wear the tabard of their leader and care only for what he desires. –V"

The signed bit at the end made Kael raise his long eyebrows that hung off the sides of his head, "V? Maybe VanCleef?"

Trixie shook her head as she stuffed the pamphlet in a pocket, "He's dead, and this doesn't look like it's that old."

"Let's see if we can find anything else," Kael paused as he considered their overall situation and how the afternoon light was beginning to set in. They ought to leave town before it got dark, "You think you can handle looking around town by yourself? The faster we can find anything of note, the sooner we can leave this damned place."

"Of course I can."

Kael knew better than to trust her arrogant nature, but they would be in severe trouble if whoever was tracking them were to catch up, so haste was required and by splitting up they could cover more ground, "If anything happens, run to the Stormwind camp and we'll meet up there."

Trixie nodded and moved to leave when she noticed Kael bending down and ruffling through the pockets of the unconscious miscreants.

"What are you doing?"

Kael removed a red cloth from one of the pockets he searched and smirked at the discovery, "There it is," he held the bandana out towards Trixie to show it to her all the while removing the money in the man's pocket and placing it in his own, "Thought they might have these on them. Evidence that the Defias is up to no good."

"Well, have fun taking off the clothes of those guys, I'm going to leave you four alone."

Kael groaned as he realized he was the one at the butt of the joke this time, but he let it go because of all the times he managed to get away with messing with her. Still, despite his plan to optimize the time of this operation he was still worried for her, so he called out to Trixie as she left.

"Don't get yourself killed!

* * *

After splitting up to find clues, the duo each encountered resistance from the various leather clothed thugs in town.

"This is for VanCleef, you Elven bastards!"

"If you ain't with us, you're against us! DIE!"

"Little early to the party, aren't ya?"

None of it lasted very long, as giant ice shards and fireballs trump rusty daggers.

Once they found some more things of note they met up at the outskirts of the town, each of them only having a little evidence but neither really caring. If the Stormwind warriors wanted anything more they could just do their own jobs. It would literally only take walking into the town and putting the shiny armor to use, so neither of the Elves had much sympathy for the lack of initiative and courage demonstrated.

"I found a secret journal with tons of Defias information!" Trixie chirped as she held out a book towards Kael. He, however, was nonplussed by her discovery.

"Did you just steal someone's diary?"

"What?" she stated defensively, "I'm investigating, and the people in the town want to kill us. I think they can do without their diary."

Kael took the diary from her and opened it up to read from it to corroborate Trixie's claim.

"Now, let's see…" he moved to a random page and began to read from it, "I have full faith in the boss, but I do question the appointment of a fish as captain…"

Trixie moved it to another page that she had earmarked, "This is the page I found interesting, read it."

Kael muttered something about it being the only page she probably read before he went about actually reading it as she suggested, "I can hardly believe it. We've endured this torment for too long. The Brotherhood will be reborn and we will then wash across this land as a flood to cleanse it of its filth and corruption."

As he finished the page's text he felt his head sinking. Trixie opened her mouth to question his disparaged look when he spoke up and interrupted her would be question.

"The Brotherhood is up to something, and it seems they are planning to gather later to swell their ranks and enact whatever it is they are doing."

"Oh, and how do you know that?" Trixie sarcastically replied, her eyes rolling at the obvious statement given.

Kael ignored her sarcasm as he pulled out some evidence of his own, "You're not the only one who found something. I located this noteworthy propaganda."

To mirror what he did Trixie grabbed the paper from his hands and began to read from it before he could snatch it back.

"The hour of our redemption draws ever closer, brothers and sisters! Tonight we will shed the shell of our former lives and be reborn as heroes. —V" Trixie gave it back to him when she was done with the slip of paper, her mind wrapping around the fact that it confirmed something big was about to happen, "V again. V's got a Vendetta. V for Vendetta. I like the sound of that. It should be an action movie with political intrigue, and the main character—"

Kael held up a hand to stop her inane babble, "I think that's enough for now. I can see that people are gathering around the town square, so let's turn in what we've found and then see what's drawing the commotion."

"One day it will be I, the Great and Powerful Trixie, who captures their attention."

"For now a low profile is best."

"You should be supportive of Trixie's dreams."

Kael sighed as they walked over to the guards, "Not now, Trixie."

"I'm hungry," Trixie complained as her stomach rumbled, bringing to mind a similar issue for Kael, who had been ignoring his own starving stomach since they arrived. In a town of poor, destitute people he wasn't sure if he could get food and he was worried that if he did the thieves and thugs would come after him.

"We never did eat breakfast…" Kael wanted to tell her to quit whining, but he was feeling famished as well, "Later, okay? I'm sure Salma can make something for us, especially since it'll have been a full day since we've had something to really eat."

It wasn't the first time Trixie had gone hungry, but it'd be the last if she could help it, "Fiiiiine. This guy better pay us for doing his job for him. Seriously, does nobody actually do their job in this world? Everybody wants everyone else to do it for them!"

"Reuenthal may have enlisted our help, but he participated."

"That wasn't his job. That was the opposite of his job."

"Point taken."

"Ahem."

Trixie and Kael looked up to see that they had arrived at the Stormwind camp and the Captain was waiting for them to notice his presence before speaking. Now having it, Alpert spoke up.

"Any luck?"

The two handed in the materials they had gathered and the Captain began to look over them with great interest. After mewling over them all he looked up to the other two and gave them a confused look.

"V? The only V I know is VanCleef, but he died many years ago."

"That's what I said," Trixie scoffed as she had a random solution come to mind, "Are ghosts a thing?"

Alpert grimly nodded to that but did not explain anything substantively, "Yes, but I don't think he has the power to come back from the dead. He's dead and gone, thank the Light."

Kael reached into his bag and retrieved a set of bandanas he had retrieved from his defeated foes, "I also found these."

"Red bandanas?!" Alpert gaped, as if it was something unexpected when it was fully expected, "I haven't seen a red bandana in years. Could this V figure be attempting to reform the Defias Brotherhood?"

Kael rolled his eyes along with Trixie in a shared moment of exasperation before pulling out a final bandana, the one he received back on Elven land, "What about this one?"

"That one looks a little more unique…" Alpert nodded as he looked at the cloth more, "Yes, it has a much better make than the others. No true notability other than it must have been made specifically for someone. Where did you find it?"

"I was given it north of here by an Elven innkeeper. She says a traveler left it there sometime."

"Interesting. I would hold onto it if I were you. It might prove useful to figuring out this mystery."

The sound of a rallying crowd nearby drew the attention of everyone present, and in the center of Moonbrook it appeared as if every single one of the homeless population was gathered around. Perhaps this was what the propaganda and materials were leading towards?

The Captain gestured towards the gathering crowd, "It looks like the meeting the shadowy figure spoke of is starting soon. The homeless are starting to mobilize. I need you to attend the rally and gather information, my friends. Go to the center of Moonbrook and listen in on the rally. Return to me with whatever you find out."

Once again resigned to their fate of "go here, do that", Trixie and Kael wordlessly left the man behind to go and listen in as he requested. They would stick out like sore thumbs, but if they stood at the back of the crowd they doubted anyone would pay them any mind.

"The rally is about to begin," Trixie whispered to Kael as they slipped into the back of the gathered crowd. Despite having a height advantage on the Humans they were still having their view blocked by others in the crowd, and so as a masked voice spoke up over the rumble of the crowd neither Trixie nor Kael could observe the one speaking.

"Gather, brothers and sisters! Come, all, and listen!" the voice, likely the so called V, yelled, "Brothers. Sisters. We are ABANDONED - the orphaned children of Stormwind."

Kael nodded at the statement of fact, which resulted in Trixie elbowing him in the side: partially as payback for earlier, and partially to stifle his sympathies for the rabble-rouser.

The one speaking could be made out as a woman speaker, though Kael found himself irritate by how the moving up and down of the riled crowd was keeping him from getting a clear view despite him being the tallest one present.

"Our "king" sits atop his throne made of gold and shrugs at our plight! Meanwhile, our children die of starvation on these very streets! HIS war, not ours, cost us our livelihood. WE paid for the Alliance's victories with our blood and the blood of our loved ones!"

At this point even Trixie was biting her lip nervously. Could she hate someone riling a crowd up for conflict if they had legitimate reasons to be angry and to rise up? It did not excuse the ills of the Defias Brotherhood, but Stormwind wasn't clean either.

"The time has come, brothers and sisters, to stop this injustice! The government of Stormwind, of the ALLIANCE, must be made accountable for what it has done to us! Today, we are reborn! Today, we take a stand as men and women, not nameless, faceless numbers!"

The figure hoists into the air a rifle by the stock with a tattered pennant tied to the end, and the crowd applauds and cheers at the action. They are all quite supportive of the message given, and they all seem ready to storm Stormwind right then and there.

All except for the two worried Elves, who instead hastily turned to flee and return to Alpert. He would need to know of this, and he would need to know as soon as possible if whatever the Brotherhood was to be stopped.

Conflict was coming, and it was bound to be a bloodbath if the Brotherhood could recruit so many willing people into its ranks.

* * *

**Author's Note:** **_Who is this mysterious V? ;)  
_**

**Thank you for reading, and I hope to hear from you in the reviews below!**


	15. Level 15: Rise of the Brotherhood

**_A/N: Special thanks to KingHoborg, FutureShock, and a guest for your reviews last chapter! The more I hear from you all, the sooner I can update, so thank you for showing your support!_**

_**I hope you all enjoy, and please leave your thoughts in the reviews below!**_

* * *

"There is a shaman here, Thoralius, who might be able to aid us. He is a friend of Gryan's who has recently come to Westfall to study the elemental devastation that has befallen us. Speak to Thoralius, and see if there is something that he can do to shed some light on the identity of this shadowy figure."

Being given a new objective steeled the previously panicked duo of Elves, and they looked around the Stormwind camp for where Captain Alpert was pointing.

It so happened that the person he was pointing to was a tall, broad shouldered man with gaudily crafted golden armor, white glowing eyes, hooves for feet, and…tentacles coming off of his light blue face.

Not long tentacles, but small tendril-like things that instantly freaked Trixie out while her more composed partner just flashed a confused look back at Alpert.

"You mean the blue, squid person in golden armor ten feet away?"

Alpert nodded as he gestured again to the unassuming squid-hoof-person in literally glowing armor, "Yes, that would be the one!"

That settled that matter, so Kael grabbed his partner and began to drag her towards their newest in what would be a long line of quest givers. This snapped her out of her confused studying of the odd creature, though Trixie did whisper on the way.

"What's a squid?"

"Imagine this man's head without a body, and a bit skinnier."

Alpert heard their whispering and he rose his voice to chastise them for their conversation, "Now isn't the time for jokes, go talk to him now while I try to find a way of dealing with this potential riot!"

This time Kael took charge of their conversation, for Trixie was still awestruck and would likely prove less efficient at speeding through the conversation, "Thoralius, we are told you can aid us. I assume you've overheard our conversation with your comrade?"

The squid-person nodded to them, though he did not seem to understand that he was receiving odd looks, "Hmm, yes, perhaps I could be of some assistance. When I was in Northrend I helped the people of Valgarde uncover some of the mysteries of the vrykul by delving into the spirit world. Perhaps the same could be done here."

Nor did he seem to understand that none of that meant just about anything to the travelers speaking to him. He didn't seem to notice or care even as Trixie outright questioned it.

"…what?"

Thoralius just continued speaking as if he didn't hear her, a hand reaching into one of his pockets to reveal a scented object.

"This incense will put your body and mind in a deep meditative state. Once the trance begins you will be pulled into the spirit world. Do not fight the trance once it has begun. Allow the spirits to show you what they know."

A look to the main part of the town revealed ever increasing volume of voices, stamping of feet, and other signs that things were beginning to spiral out of control.

"You must leave now. Go to the Deadmines, a place which I am told holds great significance in the history of Westfall because it was the Defias Brotherhood's headquarters once upon a time. Once inside, use the incense. You may enter the Deadmines through the old farmhouse south of here. Follow the homeless. Return to Gryan Stoutmantle with your discovery."

Trixie reached forward to grab the incense…only to take it and then shove it into Kael's hands, her back turning to him the moment it was in his hands.

"I'm not so keen on taking something I don't know anything about from a complete stranger. You're up, Kael."

He rolled his eyes, though he had to admit she had a point. He would like to have her look after him though while he was under the influence of this substance…but he also feared that they were wasting too much time as it was. These tasks were simple, but they were costing them valuable time they could be using to avoid their Hunter.

"Fine, but you had best do something while I am carrying out this task. Remember, we ought to leave soon, so we need to be efficient."

Trixie brought a hand to her mouth as she tried to think of what she could possibly do. They still had to find the Stormwind Captain, but she didn't see how they could possibly do that, so she settled for something else on their list: talking to the Saldeans, even though they were MIA.

"I will stop by Sentinel Hill and see if I can find Hope, since we haven't seen her parents. I'd like to let them all know about the coming conflict before we turn tail and leave."

Kael paused and thought briefly before giving her a nod, approving her plan while still being apprehensive, "Be careful. There is a good to likely chance the homeless nearby Sentinel Hill will be in on all this."

"Oh please, you worry too much. You're the one going to the Deadmines, which used to be a base for thugs!"

The Elf Prince fought the urge to hug Trixie as she moved to leave and head back to Sentinel Hill, and even after she was far away he held the urge still. Things might get dangerous soon and at a speed none of them could anticipate, and while staying held danger so did rushing things.

Kael set aside his doubts as he went about sneaking back into town. It wasn't too hard to find the farmhouse given that the small town only had so many buildings, and no-one seemed to pay him much mind going in now that they all were busy discussing their little would-be revolution. The formerly corpselike population was as lively as starved people could be, and it would be heartwarming if not for the fact they were planning on throwing a violent revolution. Kael couldn't fault them given their station in life, but people would be harmed, and innocents may come to the blade who were not complicit in the suffering of those of Westfall should the Defias return to power.

Inside of the farmhouse were some of the sicklier, elderly, and young from the town's crowd all huddled across the structure. They were quiet and just murmuring to one another for the most part, though as Kael began to walk through the building he began to hear them say things about him.

"I remember seeing an Elf once…"

"I was once an Elf!"

Not everyone there was likely sane, it seemed, though Kael was proud of his own mind as he managed to find a staircase leading downwards all without rousing any real attention. In fact, this crowd of sullen people seemed to react more to eachother speaking about him than him himself.

"We heard those Stormwind guys are hiring an Elf to do their dirty work. Think it's him?"

"Nah, it was a woman I heard."

"Well I hear she's hiring mercenaries and is going to unleash her fearsome beast on us all!"

"That girl with the poor Saldeans ain't got no money for mercenaries."

"They usually give us all food. Where'v they been?"

"I dunno, but I hear there was a prison break a bit ago! There's that Captain downstairs who've they've had fer weeks, and I hear he broke his chains. Poor sod didn't get very far before they beat him back into the dirt."

"Isn't that like his third attempt? They aren't even feeding him much at all!"

After heading down the staircase Kael found a room that led into what appeared to be a cavern. One would think Stormwind would block off this former area of activity for a criminal organization or do anything at all to perhaps make sure nothing was going on here, but given that the homeless who now had Defias sensibilities were gathering by it there appeared to be no mind paid to the area by Stormwind's forces. Perhaps they were occupied elsewhere far away, enough so that they could not spare anything for the area just outside of their own border?

As Kael passed the last of the homeless taking shelter he took a step into the cave, the darkness of it making him grow doubtful as he thought about what he was doing.

"This is it…"

Taking a glance around, he noticed that the homeless nearby him were all asleep. They wouldn't pay him any mind, and he was at the location as instructed. Kael brought out the incense and lowered himself to the ground.

"Hopefully this is quick. I don't seem to be in the main cavern, but I dare not enter any further on my own."

Using a quick flame, Kael lit the incense and let its scent wash over him. It only took a moment for his vision to blur, and he had a brief moment to thank himself for sitting down before he collapsed completely and became enthralled by the vision he was granted.

The vision was unlike anything Kael had felt, or at least could remember, as it was like seeing through eyes that did not belong to him. The swirled around in the darkness of the cavern for some short time before panning across it and passing by torches lighting the passageways of it at too fast of a speed for Kael to remember them in any detail.

What he did notice though was the multitude of bodies wearing familiar red bandanas, some of which had sword wounds, while others simply seemed to have blood pooling around them despite displaying no obvious wounds.

At the end of the twisting and winding cavern passages came an inner cove, a shoreline with wood standing over it that formed platforms leading to what appeared to be a warship under construction. The size of it was so impressive that it could likely wage a battle all on its own and sink many other ships with its massive cannons, but at the time of the vision it was incomplete.

Kael thought grimly that it would likely remain that way, as this was supposed to be the fall of the Brotherhood, and this was likely their would-be trump card.

The vision's perspective shifted to home in on the top of the ship, where five men rushed atop it. The one in front was a Warrior with a Stormwind tabard and a wild look in his eyes as he yelled out.

"There's nowhere left to hide, VanCleef! The Defias are THROUGH!"

Nothing happened, though Kael could hear a very hushed voice off to the side. He was not the only one to hear it though, as Warrior soon boomed again.

"We're here to finish this! Face us, coward!"

In a flash a man with blue and bronzed golden leather leapt from the shadows nearby the ship's middle cabin, a sword in each hand as he moved to engage the Warrior calling his name.

"None may challenge the Brotherhood!"

Kael noticed that the man was wearing a bandana of a similar make to his own, it being a higher quality bandana than the other by far. It covered his mouth as he yelled, though Kael could see a furious expression through his eyes and eyebrows alone. This was a man who was losing everything and would fight to the death to accomplish his goals.

The Warrior parried VanCleef's first strike, though he ended up with a blade embedded in his side when the second sword struck. The wound disappeared in a flash of light as a member in the back of the party lifted up their hands and cast some magic unfamiliar to Kael.

A loud bang rung through the cavern as a man in full, concealing armor held out a "gun" (as Kael learned they were called) towards VanCleef. The man actually had anticipated the shot and avoided it by spinning around the Warrior and swinging down at the Warrior man's legs, knocking them from beneath him and causing him to crash to the ground.

That's when a second bang happened and VanCleef's assault halted as he stumbled back. A hole appeared in his armor in the middle of his chest, and Kael could swear he could see blood dribbling down from beneath the red bandana.

This did not stop VanCleef from rushing towards one of the others and slashing his sword across their throat as he recovered from the gunshot. The man he slashed fell to his knees and dropped the daggers he had been holding, though the lack of blood spilling from him in conjunction with some light forming around his neck indicated that he too was being healed.

"Lapdogs, all of you!" VanCleef yelled as he moved to his next target, the healer. The healer was a person in robes, and they shrieked as he lunged at them. Another gunshot powered through the large cavern as VanCleef continued to rush forward, though it was apparent that he had been hit once again by the competent marksman.

VanCleef managed to get a moderately damaging strike off on the healer, but the gunshots had slowed him down enough that he was unable to finish his strike as intended. The healer cringed away, and it saved their life.

Edwin was hacking up blood as he brought a hand back and punched the healer off the ship's deck, causing the clothed man to fall onto the scaffolding and platforms beneath where he was no threat, "Fools! Our cause is righteous!"

The last of the group, an exhausted looking old man in robes, tossed a fireball at VanCleef only for it to sail beyond the ship and fly into the far cavern wall. If it had hit VanCleef it may have set the ship afire, but the man was paid no more mind as the leader of the Defias continued onward to attack the gunman.

Edwin bobbed and weaved as he danced across the deck to approach the man with the gun, a man who stood taller and broader than even the large VanCleef, and as such aiming was difficult for the ranged fighter…so he dropped the gun and drew an axe from his back to parry the swords swinging at him.

The parry was enough to give his Warrior comrade time to finish rising to his feet and rejoin the fray, the man's fury heightened by his humiliation. VanCleef shifted one sword to the side to parry the Warrior's blade, but this gave the gunman time to use his size to his advantage and force VanCleef's other blade up before dragging the axe downward across the man's chest.

VanCleef took this in stride even as he reached the final leg of his strength, and he twisted around away from the strike so that he was free from a deadly follow up, and as he spun he whipped his sword around so it struck the back of the warrior's armored head. This strike took the Warrior off-balance and placed him in the path of the gunman, giving VanCleef the a moment to catch his breath despite the blood oozing down his chest from his many wounds.

He coughed out blood as his mask fell from his face, revealing a relatively young man who was living his last moments, "The Brotherhood…shall prevail!"

VanCleef cut down the magic user before any of the others could do anything, his second blade burying itself in the downed man with daggers. The daggers were let go of as the man's spinal cord was cut.

The Warrior rushed forward and unleashed a powerful slash at VanCleef, one only partly avoided by the heavily wounded man. The bandit's sidestep let him retaliate with a strike strong enough to remove the man's helmet, and as the Warrior moved to finish VanCleef another sword cut the man in a perfectly diagonal line from jaw to the top of his rectangular head.

The Warrior's blade buried itself in VanCleef's lower gut, but a backhand by the Defias leader forced the Warrior away…

…leaving him an open target for a final shot from the gunman, who seized the opportunity to shoot VanCleef. The shot was too quick to be well-aimed, but it did hit the noble rogue's body, and it was with this final strike that VanCleef fell to his knees. One of his swords shattered as he used it to prop himself up, its battle damage causing it to chip to the size of no more than a dagger, while his other helped him prop himself up as he tried to cling to life.

"You…" VanCleef coughed as the others surrounded him, "You bastards…are you satisfied with the way things are?

Kael looked on with some sadness, as this was truly a man who thought he was doing what was best…even if it required him to act outside of the law. And here he was dying to some thug from Stormwind who would use this to brag rather than as a teaching moment that perhaps mistreating the poor could result in greater tragedy than some hungry bellies.

The Rogue's eyes began to shut as his arms dropped and his grip on his swords loosened.

"As for me…I hate it."

When VanCleef hit the ground, he was most certainly dead given the pool of blood surrounding him, but that did not stop the Warrior from preparing to use his sword on the fallen, ignoble hero's neck.

"Victory for the Alliance! Glory to Stormwind!" the Stormwind man yelled out in triumph as he prepared to behead the body. Kael could swear he heard a gasp from somewhere, but he could not tell given the haziness of the vision.

The gunman caught the Warrior's arm as his sword swung down, stopping the blow before it could occur, "What are you doing?"

"Taking proof of his defeat. What, you think they'll just believe us?" the Warrior scoffed. As he spoke in his haughty tone the healer finally returned and began to heal their spinally challenged comrade, the other one's death not within their powers to heal.

In a voice Kael could tell was Elvish even through the hazy vision, the gunman chastised his ally for their barbaric action, "He was a noble enemy. Inflicting harm upon his corpse is unseemly."

The Warrior scoffed in response, tossing his blade to his other hand and finishing the job before anyone could voice another complaint, "What do you know, you bloody Elf? You lot may like things pretty, but we are willing to get our hands dirty."

The Warrior lowered himself and grabbed the now decapitated head of Edwin by his raven black hair.

"Let us return to Sentinel Hill, allies, and inform Gryan of VanCleef's demise!"

The gunman did not speak further, and their full body of silver armor prevented Kael from seeing their expression. The Elf picked up the body of the deceased old man and began to follow the others who had moved to leave the ship from the opposite end from where the healer climbed, but just as they all began to jump off the ship a surprise occurred.

Coming out of the cabin VanCleef had originally exited was a little girl, likely a pre-teen or near that age, who began crying as she reached VanCleef.

"Daddy..."

The only one of the four survivors to notice this was the Elf, who heard it and stopped in his tracks. He turned back to look and see her just as he stepped off the boat onto a platform.

"Come on Elf! You find something, or you just wasting time?" came the obnoxious voice of the Warrior, the man more interested in going back and being paid and honored for his work than whatever the Elf was taking time to look at.

As the little girl knelt down next to VanCleef and began to cry into his blood soaked body, the Elf turned back to face the others and continued after them. He would spare the girl the pain of being taken or harmed by her father's killers.

"No. There's nothing."

Kael felt his real stomach sicken as he continued to watch the girl cry into the dead body, though as she turned her head and revealed bloody cheek he felt himself sicken for another reason. Looking at her further, Kael found himself only able to think one last thing as the vision came to a close.

_'No…'_

* * *

Gryan Stoutmantle was actually pretty happy to see Kael as the Elf returned to Sentinel Hill, having found the Marshal at the main tower structure he had last been at when Hope was his taskmaster. He was so happy to see him return from Moonbrook that he even missed the gaunt, horrified look on the Elf's face, though that might have had to do with the fact Kael's glowing eyes partially masked his expressions like any other Elf's would. The rest was because of Stoutmantle's own optimistic outlook at the time.

He was happy. Too happy. Like he was forcing himself to be.

"What news do you bring from Westfall? Your lady friend wasn't in the mood for talking to 'another lazy quest giver', so—"

Kael cut him off without any care for formality, "Edwin VanCleef had a daughter who witnessed the murder of her father by your forces, and she is the one rallying the Defias brotherhood right now. She is using the homeless to swell her ranks to the point they could form a minor army all on their own—"

In return he was cut off as soon as Stoutmantle found himself able to speak, the revelation catching him completely off guard, "WHAT? VanCleef had a daughter?"

Kael nodded affirmatively, causing the Marshal to fall silent as he thought about the ramifications of this news.

"I had no idea that VanCleef had a daughter, friend. If there was one thing that man was exceptionally skilled at, it was keeping secrets…how tragic. Poor thing witnessed a horrible act. Had I only known…"

Had anyone but the seemingly honorable Elf known, Kael was quite sure the girl would have been slain in some quiet manner to prevent the very situation they were in now: a second Defias uprising, lead by a VanCleef.

She would only be a teenager now, but Kael had a sickening feeling that such a thing was not hindering the woman. She could have used her young nature before to pass off as some innocent child, all the while plotting revenge without anyone the wiser.

"Someone did, but they didn't open their mouth. Now, you need to listen. This daughter—"

A sudden groan from nearby caused Stoutmantle to raise a hand and silence Kael.

"What was that? Did you hear something?"

As they looked around to find the source of the sound, something struck the Marshal as odd. Only two of his normally assigned guards were nearby him, where they had been for hours, while all the others who normally patrolled the area were missing.

"…where are my guards—ON GUARD, MEN!"

The realization struck him halfway through his sentence that something was terrible wrong. Kael drew his own blade as the Marshal did the same, the complete silence in the area catching them all off guard. Even the normal moans and conversations of the homeless were gone, as were the normal masses of people in the area.

Something was very wrong. Kael hadn't noticed it in his haste to reach Gryan, and Gryan had not known that anything out of the ordinary was happening that day so he wasn't particularly on his guard anymore than he was at any other given moment.

"I will deploy a battalion of soldiers to Westfall at once! With the Defias Brotherhood reborn, an old threat to the kingdom is renewed. I don't like this, men. Stay alert!"

Upon this statement Trixie rushed outside of the tower's open entrance and began looking around.

"What the Hel is going on here? What's the commotion all about?"

Kael was relieved to see Trixie and as such missed the other person who left the tower just long enough for her to slip a dagger into Trixie's back. Trixie fell to her knees and collapsed on the ground unconscious because of whatever poison was on the shimmering blade held in the hands of Hope Saldean.

The raven-haired girl did not spare Trixie a second glance as she looked up at Gryan with seething hatred, the man turning to her just as she leveled her dagger at his neck. This had the effect of halting his guards as well as Kael, who had cried out in anguish as Trixie fell and was ready to exact vengeance so long as it did not endanger Trixie.

Hope Saldean growled at the Marshal and his men, ignoring Kael as he stood behind them, "You bastards will burn for what you did."

The sudden betrayal by a girl he had known for years caught the man off guard, and he gasped as he tried to realize what was happening, "Hope! Wha—"

She hissed at him and pressed the blade closer into his neck, his voice dying as fear crept into him, "Hope? Is that what I was supposed to feel when I saw my father decapitated by your henchmen? Hope is a cruel joke, played upon us by a harsh and uncaring world. There is no Hope, there is only Vanessa. Vanessa VanCleef."

Hope cast aside her outer clothing, revealing a red and black outfit with gold trim that she had hidden beneath it. Upon doing so she pulls out a dagger Kael could not even begin to imagine how she hid until then, its orange and yellow coloration soon serving as a beacon as she lifted it to the darkening sky.

"RISE UP BROTHERHOOD! THE DAWNING DAY IS UPON US!"

Kael felt something smash him in the spine and knock him to his knees, though he considered himself lucky as the other three ended up being struck with something similar to what rendered Trixie unconscious. Only Stoutmantle was able to fight to remain conscious amongst his men, but even he was immobilized as he fell to the ground. Behind each of them now stood Defias warriors like those Kael saw slain in the vision, their dark outfits contrasted by their red bandanas.

Vanessa pulled one out of the tabard she was wearing and fastened it on her face as she spoke to the newly arrived men with authority.

"Tie them up."

Kael wanted to react, but given the circumstances he knew it would be a fool's errand. They had dispatched everyone with such ease that he was in no position to act. This was completely on their terms, and he would not endanger Trixie by doing something stupid.

After placing her bandana on her face, Vanessa turned her gaze to where the werewolf-being was held in the stockades. She smiled at him before approaching it and releasing him with some quick lock picking.

As he freed himself from the wooden structure, one of the Defias Brotherhood men handed her a top hat which she in turn held out to the hairy beast.

"Admiral, your hat."

The wolf-being laughs as he transforms suddenly to a human form, one that could have slipped through the stockade at any point he wanted. He had waited for this moment in case he was needed. The sheer planning put into all of this amazed Kael, as it all came from this teenaged girl who looked older than she was, but couldn't be more than thirteen to fourteen years old.

The "Admiral" gives a half-bow as he takes the hat and places it on his Human head, "Thank you, my dear."

Vanessa turned towards Kael and lowered herself to his level, her eyes showing something other than hatred as she spoke.

"And you, Elf, I will spare your life from this all. You have done much to help our cause, albeit unwittingly, but the next time we meet it will be as enemies. Stay out of our way, okay?"

Vanessa makes her way down the ramp leading to the tower, but stops when Stoutmantle calls out to her.

"Just…tell me one thing, Vanessa…"

Kael slowly turned around to face her, but found himself shocked to see the area beginning to burn down around them. Sentinel Hill's entire area was beginning to be set ablaze, a sudden occurance that most certainly had not been the case moments ago. The source of the fire was none other than a tall being with yellow, a burgeoning gut, and two heads. It was casting fire magic all around it at an astonishing pace, and if not for the conversation Kael would have been enraptured by the beauty of the flames.

Stoutmantle revealed why he had been forcing himself to stay chipper previously when Kael arrived: he had terrible news and didn't want to confront it.

"Why'd you have the Saldeans killed?! I found their bodies in their room, poison and all!"

That struck Kael harder than the blow that had connected with his spine. The reason the Saldeans had been missing…Salma, her husband…

Kael almost rose and struck Vanessa at the thought that she had harmed the children, but her voice halted him as he began to seethe in anger of his own.

"I had no choice, Marshal. They recognized me. The only people in the world who even knew I existed, recognized my face…" she paused in an attempt to keep the composure she was rapidly losing, "Someone was looking for me…a woman came questioning them last afternoon. She had Stormwind warriors with her. If I didn't…"

Her voice trailed off as her body shook. The Admiral shot her a look of concern as Vanessa's voice began to quake.

Kael remembered the night before when Vanessa returned home…she had come home and likely killed the Saldean family in their sleep. She had thought her history would be revealed, and in a panic killed the ones who might be able to give her up. Knowing the Hunter who was likely the woman spoken of, Kael actually understood the worry that the Saldeans might be forced to reveal what they otherwise might not have.

"I…I took no pleasure in their deaths…and the children are going to be safe where I've arranged them to go."

A scared child had acted violently to protect their own life…while Kael hated the fact that the Saldeans were dead, he could not bring himself to hate the girl after all she had gone through. She may have planned to betray everyone, but even now she wasn't engaging in unnecessary bloodshed.

The girl had the livelihoods of hundreds if not thousands riding on her pulling far more weight than any child ought to have to.

Turning back around and preparing to leave, Vanessa fought back her tears as she yelled out to her soldiers, "Leave nothing but ashes in your wake, brothers! Burn Sentinel Hill to the ground!"

She then tosses her head towards the group at the entrance of the building, and the Admiral grabs Trixie and hoists her onto a shoulder. This done, he steps out of the way for the others to do their job.

The Defias members throw flares, setting Sentinel Tower alight. Vanessa leaves the immediate area of the now burning building and joins a small green humanoid, the Admiral, the firecaster, and a mechanical being like the Harvesters from before. Once together, the group of unique members leave, each of the group forming around Vanessa protectively.

With the others sapped of strength and Kael in no position to fight them, he was forced to watch as his partner was stolen from him. He was powerless to stop them…

Kael began to cry through sheer frustration. Damn Stormwind, damn the Brotherhood, damn all of these damn Humans, and damn the Hunter! All of them caused this tragedy to happen the way it did, all of them set things up to go so terribly as this, and there was nothing a single Elf could do about it.

Coming to that conclusion caused something in Kael to snap. He stood up and moved the soldiers away from where the flames were raging, including Stoutmantle.

After being shoved aside, the Marshal weakly spoke from his position on the ground.

"Go to Stormwind…they must know…warn…"

The response was instant and concise.

"No."

Stoutmantle gasped from the ground, but he couldn't muster the strength to do much more than be exasperated.

"What?!"

Kael glared down at the Marshal. He was about sick of having to listen to all of these people complicit in this tragic area, "They took my partner and I know not why. I fear for her safety, and it will take quite some time to travel to your capital."

"Listen, you insolent Elf, I—"

That did it. Kael crouched down and looked right in the man's eyes as he lowered his sword to the man's neck. That was not the way a common soldier with no great station ought to talk to him.

"My name is Prince Kael'thas Sunstrider, lord of the Blood Elves, and you will be speaking to me with more respect."

That elicited a gasp from Stoutmantle, who suddenly realized why he had gotten a feeling that this Elf seemed familiar.

"Su-Sunstrider?"

Kael stood back up and looked down at his sword before glancing over to another nearby object that lay nearby, "I am here on my own business, not yours, and I will not be ordered around at a time like this by some useless officer."

"You…" Stoutmantle wanted to argue, but he understood that he had no jurisdiction over the leader of an opposing race who was being gracious by not just killing them all given the relations between their people, "Fine. Go. But don't expect any help…they'll have killed those at the Moonbrook outpost by now, and my men and I will be little use like this…"

Kael nodded as he approached the object that had caught his eye: a greatsword nearly the size of a Human man. The long silver blade was well kept, being the Marshal's own sword, and it continued down into a golden hilt that had a wide cross guard with blue accents, while the actual hilt was largely golden outside of a blue rectangle within it.

A sharpened blade, even if it was immensely heavy, was more useful than a dulled blade given by a dead farmer.

"What are you doing?"

Kael lifted the blade up and realized that he would need two hands for it, which was fitting as the hilt was large enough to fit two hands. Whoever crafted it knew what they were doing. This done, he grabbed a bag from one of the unconscious soldiers and looked inside to find potions like those he showed to Trixie back when they first met.

"I am going to go carve my way through hundreds of outlaws. I am going to use the health potions you and your men are too stunned to make use of."

If he could not protect a single subject, the one he admittedly cared for most, what kind of ruler could he be? Kael refused to let Trixie be held captive, and he would kill any and every noble bandit in his path if it meant bringing her back, their goals be damned.

"And yes, I'm taking your sword. If you have a complaint, rise to your feet and defeat your foe on your own. "

"King Varian gave that to me…it is from his own house…"

Kael smirked as he looked at his own reflection in the blade, "Then it is a blade befitting of royalty. Now, rest and try not to burn as I go and do your duty for you."

He felt a power swelling inside of him, as if he could take on the world. He even felt magic emanating from the blade he now wielded.

_'Trixie, I'm coming…be safe.'_

* * *

_**Author's Note: If anyone found out through deductive reasoning who V was, congratulations. Shocking, I know, but such is the way of Warcraft!**_

_**Do you know what this means though? Deadmines time! First dungeon I ever remember doing...though I had a party of five at the time. Hehe. Kael could use a good partner. Preferably in green to balance out his red, since they are complimentary colors, and wielding a lance to fulfill the lancer role to Kael's hero. Trixie will instead have to deal with being a hostage, but don't expect her to do nothing (cough, Sansa, cough) to free herself.**_

_**Thank you for reading, and I hope to hear from you in the reviews below!  
**_


	16. You Are Free to Break the Chains of Fate

**_A/N: FutureShock and KingHoborg for your reviews last chapter! Your support helps a lot, and I am very grateful for it.  
_**

_**I hope you all enjoy, and please, please leave your thoughts in the comments below. I miss hearing from you all.**_

* * *

The waft of fresh, warm bread was what woke Trixie up. Her head was in a low level of pain as she tried to pull up and look around to find the source of the overpowering smell.

By the time her sight was clear and she could see, a girl no more than fourteen or fifteen years old, possibly younger, was by the door to some unknown room Trixie was in. Trixie tried to think of who the girl was, but nothing was coming to mind as the girl began to open a wooden door to leave.

"Who…are you?"

The teenager seemed surprised to hear Trixie speak, and she turned to the Elven woman in response. The girl's face was covered by red cloth below the nose, and her raven hair was a stark contrast to the silver locks falling down the front of Trixie's face.

Trixie's mind went back to what had happened to her: someone said something, then a sudden pain wracked her body, and then nothing. The red cloth told Trixie that this was not a friendly place though, and the dark room gave her a dark foreboding about her situation.

The young girl didn't say anything back at first, instead pausing to stare at Trixie with light blue eyes. A range of emotions passed over her features faster than the groggy Trixie could study, and when they ended with the girl sighing she looked down to the floor next to her and spoke up in a soft voice.

"Come on Cookie."

Trixie looked to the same place and saw an odd creature of about a foot and a half height standing beside the young girl. It was unlike anything Trixie had seen before, as it had a blue body, yellow curved spines coming off its back that didn't appear dangerous, and humanoid limbs. She couldn't see its face because it had a stereotypical pirate's hat on, concealing its upper body from sight given Trixie's position behind it.

They left without another word, and Trixie was left to think.

Where was she? Who were they? Why had they taken her? Was this the so called Defias brotherhood?

And, most importantly to Trixie's rumbling stomach, was that bread on the floor over there?

* * *

It had taken time for Kael to decide what to do after Vanessa's reveal. They had left no tracks he could follow, and he had no real clue where they could be off to. It would be foolish for them to be at their original residence in the Deadmines, since that would be too obvious, but then again such a move would be ingenious.

Still, they could most certainly have a new base…Whatever the case, Kael could not just rush in and hope to accomplish anything. He knew he had limits at his current skill level, but he would also not just sit back and let these thieves take his partner away to do who knows what.

To regroup and think things over, as well as search for one thing in particular, Kael went back to the house of the Saldeans.

He did not expect it to be burned to the ground. Completely brought down to the ground, smoldering, smoke leading into the sky. He had seen the smoke from a distance given the flat landscape, but a part of Kael had been hoping it was just the chimney acting up.

No. The farm was burnt to the ground, and standing nearby it was a man in dark green chainmail looking at it all with a bored expression. Not knowing the Human man's allegiance, but not trusting just about anybody after what had happened, Kael approached the Human with his new sword drawn and prepared for fighting. It was heavier than his previous sword, but it didn't feel too off in Kael's palms. He felt stronger holding it, as if the sword itself was giving him power.

The Human saw Kael coming from a mile away, and he pulled out a sword of his own and a shorter blade of a make Kael did not know.

Kael paused and let the man speak, "Easy there. I didn't burn down the place, some other bloke did that."

That did not make Kael lower his blade. The speed at which the man drew his weapons showed that he was dangerously agile, and while Kael had stopped fifteen feet away from him he still felt like it was too little for comfort, "Then what are you doing here?"

The man had been leaning back against a fence post when Kael approached, and while he did not go back to slouching against it he did relax some as he gave a nonchalant shrug, "I could be asking you the same question, my blonde friend."

Kael did not trust this man. He was just coincidentally sitting by the burning house when Kael went to it? No. He had heard that the Hunter had been hiring people to find him, and Kael had a good feeling this was one of them. He had the distant eyes of a killer, and he most certainly had an agenda.

Still, Kael needed to feel this man out a bit more. If the mercenary man was truly serving as a bounty hunter, Kael knew he would be in trouble. Just as he felt power radiating off his own weapon, he could feel it coming from the man before him. It was a subtle feeling, one that was understated unless paid attention to specifically, but it was most definitely there.

If Kael were to come out ahead, he would need time, "I was a guest in this home…" he paused as he continued to hold his heavy blade ready for battle, "The people who took me in were murdered by someone last night. Now I return to find their home burnt to the ground."

The supposed mercenary nodded but said nothing, instead looking Kael's body over a bit as the Elf stood nervously before him. Kael could not wait to be powerful enough to not be threatened by some cutthroat hired for a few silver or gold.

The man not speaking but rather studying him caused Kael further discomfort. The mercenary had probably come up with a plethora of ways to rush him and strike him down already, only not doing so because of something in the man's head that Kael couldn't ascertain.

"Now you," Kael prodded, hoping to revitalize the conversation.

The response was less than satisfying for him.

"Work," another bored shrug.

Kael gestured to him in his confusion, "Work?"

The man nodded back, "Work."

Given little to go off of, Kael decided to reveal his hypothesis. He had an idea of how to handle this if he was correct, "You were sent by another Elf to come and interrogate them for answers concerning something."

The mercenary's eyebrows raised as he nodded his head slowly, "Perceptive, uh…Sunbather," he moved his hand a little as he purposefully misstated Kael's last name.

Still relaxed, the mercenary nodded over at the former home of the Saldeans, then turned back to fully face Kael with a more interested expression, "You see, I came here to ask the poor folks if they've seen any Elves around. Heard from someone nearby they like taking in wanderers now and again."

Kael tensed underneath his leather armor. The mercenary was quite astute to have tracked him down like this, but why had he done so alone if he was going to fight two people originally? Was he that confident he could best them, or was something else going on in the man's mind?

"I see."

The mercenary smirked darkly at Kael, "Funny thing is, I think I remember one of them being a blonde guy who wears red. Happen to know him?"

There it was. Kael straightened himself out and took a step back, leveling his blade at the mercenary man who still had yet to take a step forward.

The mercenary saw the aggression and prepared his own blades for battle, though he kept his distance, "Listen, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. I only need your head after all, but I hear they're paying more for you alive."

Kael decided to bring out his first line of defense, "Did they tell you who I am?"

"Aye. Some dumb cunt who thinks he's Kael'thas Sunstrider," the mercenary gave the smallest nod to Kael and then smirked again, "Have to say, you do look the part."

A sellsword ought to be weak to an appeal to greed, so Kael thought to continue this line of defense while hoping the man was as smart as he thought he was, "And if I said I am the man in question?"

Unfortunately, the mercenary was smarter than even the expected level of intelligence.

"If you were the man they say you're pretending to be, we wouldn't be having this conversation. You see, I see that sword you're carrying. I see your nicks and bruises. The real prince of the prissy men wouldn't have those when confronting no more than street thugs."

Kael could see that he was not going to get anywhere on his looks alone, and he did not have much else to confirm his identity. The man was too smart to just bribe on words alone, he needed something more concrete…

Still, Kael did not have the time to think of a better way to prove his identity just yet. He kept his blade raised, refusing to just let this sellsword stop him before he could save Trixie.

Seeing the weapon still leveled at him, the mercenary sighed and prepared to move forward, "Hard way it is."

Kael began to say the words to one of his spells, but the sound died in his throat when he was suddenly forced to block the mercenary's longer blade with his own. This was made worse when the mercenary's smaller blade lunged for Kael's throat, the speed the warrior was displaying being far beyond anything Kael could remember seeing. There truly were powerful people…and he was not one of them.

Currently.

"Wait!"

It was a rushed cry, and while it caused the mercenary to not skewer Kael through the neck but rather the shoulder, Kael was quickly knocked over and pushed flat on his back. His sword was kicked away and the mercenary impaled a part of Kael's armor to pin it to the ground without harming him.

"You have ten seconds to make me reconsider letting you live. You can cast magic, I heard your spell, and I'm not going to let you do anything stupid. I'll take you in dead if it means I don't have to deal with a tricky spell user."

With little time available, Kael tried reaching into one of the bags he had with him only for the mercenary to stomp on his arm and grip his neck to keep him from speaking.

Kael had figured out how he was going to secure his hook on this skilled sellsword.

The mercenary removed the bag from Kael and carefully placed its contents on the ground nearby, still restraining Kael all the while to keep him from doing anything. However, while looking through the healing potions and the like the man's eye caught sight of something shining amongst the mess of the bag.

"Do you know what that is?" Kael choked out, barely able to speak with the hand carefully gripping his neck.

In the man's palm was the ring belonging to…the name struck Kael like a memory rushing back to him: Sylvanas Windrunner, first ranger or something like that, of Silvermoon…and current leader of…of…

The mercenary looked over the ring carefully, though it was apparent that he couldn't pick up its Elven heritage given his own background, "A pretty damn fine ring," he pocketed the jewelry and flashed a smug grin at Kael before resuming his complete domination of Kael, "Thanks, I can sell it when we're done here. Now, if that's all—"

Seeing the man go for his blade again, Kael spoke up despite the hand around his neck, "It belonged to Sylvanas Windrunner!" that got the mercenary to give some pause, though it was only really enough to keep Kael's head on and for the neck squeezing to lighten, "Why would I have that if I am not who I say I am?"

The gears turned in the Human's mind, but he did not release Kael. He possessed a level of savvy that actually unnerved Kael.

"See, funny thing is, I can't confirm that you're telling the truth or not unless I bring this to someone to get it appraised. You think I'd just leave you alone to go do that? Or bring you to a place in the city you might be able to slip away?"

This might bite him in the ass later on, but if it meant not dying right now…

"If I am who I say I am, I can reward you one day with far greater riches than a ring. If I am lying, you'll have a priceless ring that can earn you a reward from a powerful woman, and you can easily track me down again I presume. After all, that Hunter came across the entire continent to come give me grief," Kael rationalized.

The man pressing him into the ground looked Kael in the eyes carefully, then after analyzing him and seeing that he was telling the truth, he stood up and ripped his blade from Kael's armor.

He sheathed the weapon behind him but kept the other out to still threaten Kael, "We didn't have this conversation," he began to walk away from the farm as Kael began to get up and catch up on the breathe he had been short of, "And you had better hope there's some truth to what you're saying."

Once he was about ten steps away the mercenary paused and nodded over to another part of the farm just as Kael finished getting back up.

"Oh, by the way, there's a box over there you might want to go through. There's even a little lizard tied next to it."

Once the mercenary was completely gone, Kael put his stuff back together and rushed to where the mercenary had indicated. Surely enough, the Mana Wyrm Trixie had taken in (stolen) was tied to a chest that was locked. Kael used his flames to burn the chains holding the animal there and also used them to burn off the chest's lock.

The Mana Wyrm rushed to his side and began to quickly fly around him in an excited manner. It likely had been tied there ever since the person set the house on fire…but the manner in which the person took the effort to do so made Kael believe Vanessa had done it. The girl wasn't evil despite having killed her adoptive parents, she was simply a hurt child who was angry at the world for having taken her real family from her and scared that they would come back and kill her too.

Kael seized the Mana Wyrm and embraced it to get it to stop, and once it settled into his arms he began to stroke it softly, "Nana…"

He looked inside the chest, and inside were the possessions he and Trixie had left inside the house still. Vanessa truly was thoughtful…but she had taken Trixie, and that was unforgivable.

Looking into the Wyrm's glowing eyes, Kael revealed his true reason for coming back to the farm.

"I need you to find Trixie."

* * *

The room Trixie was in was not too cramped, but because of it she quickly ascertained that she was on a ship by the slow rocking back and forth of the floor, which would explain the odd room size. The ship wasn't ever shaking all that much though, and it really felt like it was going nowhere. So she was on a ship that was docked…but why?

After eating the bread provided for her, Trixie quickly found out how stupid that idea was as she fell asleep again moments later. She managed to get back to the bed provided for her, but she was passed out face down on the bed when she came to the realization that the bread had been dosed in some sleep inducing substance.

Whomever had knocked her out in the first place had come once again rendered her helpless. The back to back humiliation irritated Trixie on a personal level she had not felt yet since she arrived in this unknown land. She was the Great and Powerful Trixie, she would not just be reduced to some fool!

The room was bare, with nothing left inside of it that she could use to assist her escape outside of possibly using the bed as a battering ram. Trixie didn't think she would be able to do much to the door, since there was a magical glow of sorts around it, in addition to the more mundane fact of also being reinforced on the other side.

Because of this Trixie was left to dawdle in the bare room, and soon after her anger simmered it gave way to worry. Where was Kael? What happened to everyone at Sentinel Hill if she could be knocked out and kidnapped in front of so many others. She hadn't even managed to find Hope Saldean by the time it happened, even though the guard outside had said Hope had gone inside earlier. What, could the girl just vanish?

Still, Trixie had no idea what was going to happen from here on out, and as much as she wanted to remain optimistic that everyone was okay, she had worry burrowing through her gut as thoughts came to her mind about the possibilities of their fates.

The glowing door eventually stopped glowing and Trixie heard the entire barricade of locking tools and whatever gadgets lay outside. Soon after it opened and in came blinding light. Since they hadn't given Trixie much of anything there was no candle or lamp to light the room up, but there was some light creeping in through the door to make the room just barely visible in all of its bareness.

Standing in the way of the light and suddenly casting a large shadow was a girl in red clothing with a red bandana signifying that she was a part of the Defias brotherhood. Trixie quickly prepared to sling a spell at her when she recognized her as the one from before…who was still just a child.

Trixie cursed her morality as she sat still on the bed and watched as the girl gave her a short look before placing bread on the floor in the same place it had been before. Beside the girl was the blue thing again, though now Trixie could see its face. The fish with legs and arms had black irises in the center of large yellow orbs. It had a white belly and chin, and the front of its skinny arms and hands was green.

It was holding the girl's hand and watching as she placed the plate of food down. Trixie felt sick to her stomach at the sight of the bread because of the previous plate.

Trixie rolled over onto her side and gave a disapproving look, part of her wondering if she could just teleport outside the door…and only not doing so because the view outside was one of a dark cavern and the edge of a boat. She wouldn't be going anywhere most likely, especially since she could hear the voices of countless others outside.

"More tainted food?"

The girl looked up to Trixie and narrowed her eyes as if she were scrutinizing the prisoner, "This won't put you to sleep, and it won't kill you, so just be quiet. You'll only be here a couple more days."

A couple days, huh? So they really had captured Trixie with some purpose in mind…but what for? Kael was the important person, not her, right?

"Who are you, and what do you want? I know you work for the Defias, but what do you need me for?"

The girl's eyes relaxed as she turned around and slowly approached the still open door. Part of Trixie was unsure whether the girl was comfortable with Trixie not being bound and gagged because she was a child, or whether it was fine because she believed herself capable of handling Trixie all on her own…or at least with the aid of the fish thing.

The lack of verbal response irritated Trixie, though she hid the feeling from her voice, "No? Nothing at all?"

The fish looked up at the Human girl, but its giant, unblinking eyes did not reveal any particular emotion as it spoke in nonsense words.

"Mrglemrglemrgle?"

That got a response out of the girl, who lowered herself to the ground and picked up the blue thing and hugged him for a moment. This done, she placed it back down and the fish stood beside her a moment before looking over at Trixie.

It took a couple steps toward Trixie, its pirate hat partially askew because of the embrace it just participated in, and in turn Trixie brought a hand out towards it. It was an animal pet, right? So would it want to be pet?

"So, who is this little fellow?"

_"Don't touch him!"_

The teenager lunged forward and scooped up the fish and brought it back away from Trixie in a step so quick it was practically invisible to Trixie's eyes. The teenager appeared back by the door with the little being in its arm before Trixie could even finish reaching her arm out and brush against the fish.

After pausing and making sure the fish thing was okay, the girl sighed and pulled him in tighter. Trixie could feel stress radiating off of the teenager, and something in the back of her head was telling her that she didn't have a great set of teenage years herself.

In fact, Trixie distinctly remembered starving. Living alone and starving day to day. Trixie was shocked enough by the sudden surge of thought, of remembering something, that she didn't verbally respond to the sudden grab a moment ago.

Instead, to Trixie's surprise, the girl spoke again in a rough voice that both sounded its age while also feeling like it could pass for older if one wasn't paying attention.

"His name is Cookie. He's my…friend."

The emphasis of the last word gave Trixie the feeling that this girl didn't have many of those. Or any, outside of Cookie. Was that what living with the Defias was like, or was it something else? They were a brotherhood after all, so Trixie doubted they were all distant from one another. So why was she different?

Knowing that she should be careful around the girl, whose pair of daggers shined in the room's only light as they hung off a belt, Trixie slowly spoke as Cookie was stroked on the forehead just above his big eyes, "I've never seen anything like him before."

The Defias member seemed to calm down as she brought her head down into the pirate hat she had most likely given Cookie.

"He's a Murloc. He's a smart Murloc," she glanced over to the bread in the side of the room, "He's our cook."

"I see where he gets his name from then."

In a surprising revelation of her age and lack of maturity, the girl held Cookie out and began to glare and snarl at him as he quietly let himself hang from her hands, "No, he got his name because he was trying to steal my cookies when I was a little girl."

"Aren't you young still?" Trixie remarked, though she was hardly one to talk. She couldn't nail down a date specifically, but she didn't feel like she was over two decades old herself. Still, she was an adult at the very least, unlike the girl before her.

The girl snorted and let Cookie down, at which point he began to leave and she followed, "Whatever, granny."

That actually rose Trixie's temper back to where it had been earlier, for once again her ego was trampled upon when she was already feeling insecure, "Just because my hair is silver does not mean I am old!"

On the way out the girl only paused to talk Trixie down again, "Stop talking and eat. I was told to make sure you were healthy."

Trixie quashed another temptation to bolt out behind the other girl, believing it to be a fool's errand: they said she'd be there a few more days, and in the meantime she could try and find some way to get out while she had the freedom of being unchained. If she tried to run they might not be so kind, though the lack of chains did make her wonder…if they were not even chaining her, am were providing her with a bed, why would they want to just lock her away?

As the door shut Trixie got in the last word, hoping to help cheer up the girl who she was beginning to empathize with.

"This bread smells nice. Thank you for it."

After all, who would like to be born into poverty or have a family so poor that joining a group of outlaws seemed like it was the best option?

* * *

Trixie waited and began thinking of things she could do to escape. She could try and force herself to sneeze and bust down the door. She could use her own magic to try and wreck the door. Or the wall. The wall was made of some kind of wood, and Trixie doubted they would reinforce it as well as the door. A rookie mistake.

Still, if Trixie broke down the wall, then what? She knew she was on a ship that wasn't going anywhere yet, but they were inside some cave. A pirate's cavern or something like that most likely. They had people all around, and while Trixie was confident she could beat a few up it just would not be realistic to beat more than a few of them. They wouldn't kill her, she could tell that much by how they were keeping her locked up and fed, but they might not be so kind to her the second time around.

As Trixie sat contemplating her way out of the mess she was in the door opened up again. This time she noticed the giant wolf-being walk by for a moment as the girl walked inside with more food. Cookie did not accompany her this time, and Trixie couldn't help but think it was because of the way things went down last time.

Trixie was bored for the most part, having been waiting around for more time than she could keep track of in the dark, and so she started their conversation off with a random subject.

"My friend has a scarf like that."

Kael did have one nearly identical to it. Not the same make as the common ones encountered in Moonbrook, rather a well crafted sort that likely was quite expensive. However had a spare of it ended up with the Elves up north Trixie would take a good deal more time to learn.

The girl looked down at the red cloth on her face and then turned to face Trixie with an obviously sour expression on despite half her face being covered.

"It's not a scarf, it's a bandana!" the Defias girl growled, though she soon began to mumble something about how she "should have taken" something or another.

Trixie held her hands up defensively, realizing that she had pressed a button unintentionally, "I apologize. I didn't mean to make you angry…"

"It was my father's…" the girl quieted down as she placed the food down once again, opting once more to do so away from Trixie to keep some distance between them, "I lost his other one…"

The soft voice hit Trixie in the gut. This girl had lost her father, and quite possibly her mother. The Defias had an orphan in their ranks, something that brought back a feeling of familiarity as well in Trixie.

"I'm sorry..."

What could she do but offer her condolences? She wasn't the one in power here, even if it was the orphan girl who was hurting before her.

Their hands tightened up into balled fists, pale skin growing paler as the girl clenched them in quiet fury, "You didn't kill him. Those damn men from Stormwind took my father's head. Them and their Elven ally, that two colored bastard."

Trixie's pity took a back seat to fear as she saw the sheer determined look on the younger's girl's face as she continued to speak with anger dripping from her quiet voice.

"I'm going to make them pay. Now that I have the power to do so, I will take my revenge. I'll make them all suffer the way I have, for what they've all made me do…"

Trixie might not be a great people person on the personal level, but she knew enough, and a part of her was feeling a kindred spirit in this girl. They had felt the same pain, even if Trixie could not fully remember her own just yet.

"Come here."

The orphan looked over to Trixie in surprise, not expecting outstretched arms and a comforting but not smiling face. Trixie wasn't going to say everything would be all right, but she wanted to at least offer some form of comfort.

The girl drew a dagger and pointed it at Trixie, though her voice was revealing of her shock in the face of sympathy, "As if I would trust someone in my jail."

"I'm not going to hurt a child," Trixie teleported straight past the dagger and quickly embraced the girl in a hug before she could say or do anything about it. Trixie might be self-absorbed at times, but empathy was not lost on her, "And I'm sorry you had to go through that. No-one should feel that pain…"

The dagger made a loud clank as it fell to the floor and bounced off the wooden structure. Trixie had expected partially to get nicked by it either through retaliation or by accident, so the sound was a welcome one.

She had surprised the girl enough to shock her into accidently disarming. A more sinister person would take advantage of this, but Trixie refused to. She would escape this place of her own skill, not through taking advantage of a child's naiveté.

Trixie felt the girl struggle at first, but she calmed down over the course of a few seconds. Once this was done, she moved to return the hug just before violently shaking her head and pushing Trixie away with strength far greater than one of her age and slight build ought to muster.

Once Trixie was no longer touching her the girl shot her a death glare.

"I killed the last person who did that. You're lucky I need you alive."

This said, she turned on her heel and walked out. Once again, Trixie wouldn't let her have the last word, all the while smiling to herself at how she nearly got through.

"Tell Cookie thank you for the bread!"

Perhaps with some time she could manage to accomplish that. While they were opposed in terms of allegiance, Trixie held no ill will for this particular captor. She was a scared girl who had lost her father, likely to the same people Trixie had been working with and for. Trixie could understand the angst.

"Vanessa."

The girl had suddenly stopped, though she hadn't turned around to face Trixie.

Trixie raised an eyebrow. Stating what she assumed was a name did not mean much to her, as it could mean anything without context, "What?"

"My name's Vanessa. When you speak to me, use it."

And with that, Vanessa VanCleef left Trixie wordless in their third true meeting.

* * *

The next time Trixie's attention was roused was when she suddenly had an idea of how to apply and abuse her powers to this situation. Pushing her bed aside with such ease that she actually began to grasp her own equine strength, Trixie froze the floor beneath it. With a punch she managed to break through the frozen surface, and she looked beneath to find that it was a dark storage room beneath her. Not even a finished storage room by the looks of it, but rather one under construction.

She was in a shipyard. The boat wasn't going anywhere because it couldn't yet.

With the bed moved aside, Trixie froze gradually more and more while slowly breaking it bit by bit. She managed to carve out in this way a rectangle that was smaller than the bed, and with enough luck she could sneak out through it and then return and cover it with the bed like she had never been gone.

Breaking out the way they expected was stupid, but if they didn't know she was gone then she would still be fine. By sneaking around she could find out more and possibly devise an escape route.

Trixie slipped through the newly made entrance, quickly considering the many stackable crates in the room as a way of covering up the hole from beneath. This done, she snuck to the other side of the room and found the door.

It had no window, so in order to see anything Trixie was forced to slowly creak it open when she heard no voices on the other side.

This was noticed immediately by the long eared being with fur all over his body standing outside, Ripsnarl. He turned to face Trixie and she froze in panic at the sight of him. Knowing that she was already in trouble, she didn't try to run. Where could she run to after all?

"Prisoner, what are you doing here? How did you get out of your room?"

Trixie thought of a quick lie so that they might not look for her escape route, "I accidently teleported out of it when muttering some spells I've been trying to memorize and learn. Didn't know what they did and I was curious," she noticed that he was helping some others with the boat's construction, and so she jokingly asked him, "Do you need a hand?"

He snorted in recognition of the humor she was making of her situation, though by then she had everyone's attention. A small green man not much taller than Cookie, a two-headed behemoth with yellow skin and one eye on each head, a giant robot carrying entire stacks of timber, and of course Ripsnarl himself.

"We are fine. Go back to your cell. Glubtok, make sure she stays put this time."

Ripsnarl had gestured to the giant being with sickly yellow skin when he said Glubtok, and the large being lumbered towards Trixie at his command.

Before Glubtok could lead her back to her room, Trixie stepped out with her hands up while speaking hurriedly, "Wait, who are you all?"

The more she could get them to reveal, the better off she'd be, right?

Ripsnarl bowed to Trixie, "We are the lieutenants of the Defias Brotherhood. We are what remains after our downfall some years back."

The green being smirked and pointed a finger at himself as he spoke in a higher pitched voice than even the Saldean kids had, "I'm Helix Gearbreaker. This is Foe Reaper 5000," he pointed at the giant mechanical being that was really just an oversized Harvest golem, "You saw the dumbass, Glubtok already, and of course there is our Admiral, Ripsnarl."

Trixie nodded in thanks to him for saying everyone's names. Now, stalling part two, "Okay, now that you so nicely introduced everyone, why are you hurting innocent people?"

Ripsnarl stood up fully only to then lower his head in sadness, his face still capable of displaying it despite his werewolf appearance, "We have no other way of life. We started as a group of mechanics, architects, and other kinds of engineers who worked in Stormwind. However, the nobles who hired us to build there refused to pay us after we finished the job."

That got Helix to lose his smug look, and Glubtok's shoulders sank as Ripsnarl continued to talk. Trixie too was losing any last traces of animosity she had towards them as he finished the tale.

"Unable to feed ourselves, and unable to work under such conditions, we fled from the capital and formed our Brotherhood. Edwin VanCleef was our leader, but the ignoble men of Stormwind had mercenaries come to take his head. We fought, and we lost many of our brothers and sisters, but in the end we could not save him."

"We would have all perished if not for the aid of our current leader. They took us from the brink of death and helped us rebuild these past years."

Helix looked uncomfortable as he stood beside his Admiral, "Ripsnarl, why are you telling her this? Like she needs our sob story."

The Admiral and apparent leader of this bunch brought a hand out towards Trixie while looking to Helix, "We are not the villains. We must resort to ill deeds, but I want others to understand that we have no choice. If those in Stormwind had not ruined our lives we would have never come to this, and now we have no choice but to continue or else starve or be executed."

Trixie laughed as a memory came to mind of her first moments in Westfall, "I was talking with my friend the other day about invading Stormwind and taking it over," her words surprised the others gathered, amusing her greatly, "I'm glad I wasn't wrong in thinking they need new management."

Ripsnarl nodded in agreement, though his face remained forlorn, "It is unfortunate that you are our current meal ticket. We've been given seemingly endless amounts of supplies to capture you and turn you over to our benefactor. With a mind like that you would make a good Defias member."

Stalling part three, though Trixie found she was actually enjoying getting a look inside the minds of those who would capture her. She was their "meal ticket", so it meant they were getting paid to do this. But by whom and for what reason?

"There is a girl who brings me food. Why do you take children into your ranks?"

"We have people of all ages and all races working in our Brotherhood. We take those who no-one else will. The poor from Stormwind and Westfall come to us in the hope that we will overthrow those who oppressed them and bring them to glory in the process," Ripsnarl explained once again, his voice sounding like that of a gentleman rather than the savage beast he appeared to be.

"I see…" Trixie muttered, "That would explain the cook…"

Helix scoffed, obviously figuring out who Trixie was speaking of, "Can't believe our dear leader made him a freakin' Captain…can that thing even steer a boat?"

Foe Reaper 9000 spoke up after him with surprising sass for a robot, "Subject: Helix. Measurement: Marginally larger."

"Yeah, yeah, but at least I got a brain to counter my vertical issues!"

Ripsnarl looked to Trixie again with a frown, for he obviously did not enjoy what he had to do, "Ms. Lulamoon, I hope you bear no grudge against us for this matter. It is not personal, it's business, and if we had the opportunity to we would be more than just thieves and kidnappers."

Helix looked over Glubtok and then chuckled to himself, "Well, most of us."

Trixie sighed and let her own shoulders sink this time. She was captured by misfits who needed to do this to eat and continue on with their semi-noble crusade against ignoble nobles. Depending on who was paying, Trixie was half-heartedly tempted to let them sell her. She could escape from the next group who was less sympathetic.

Still, she wanted out. She wanted to find Kael and get out of Westfall with their new pet and all.

"I can't exactly say I blame you, but it would be very nice if you let me go. If I told you I know a prince who would be willing to pay you back at a later date you wouldn't believe me, would you?"

"I apologize, but it appears as if we are already being funded by royalty."

Ripsnarl looked to the two-headed being again and sighed.

"Glubtok. Make sure she stays put."

"Okay," each head responded, though the lack of synchronization keyed Trixie in that they weren't linked by anything more than a body.

* * *

It had taken quite some time, but Kael had finally managed to find where he needed to go: the Deadmines. Nana had brought him to the cave after he gave her something of Trixie's to smell, and he was quite sure that he was at the right place. The sound of pickaxes was coming from down inside the mine, and he could faintly hear voices.

This was it. He could very well die in there trying to save Trixie, but he did not know how much time he had to save her. He was just thankful he had gone right to finding Nana and not waste time with finding Stormwind help, as her scent may have faded otherwise. Nana had only barely managed to track her after all, since Mana Wyrms weren't exactly bred for their noses.

Kael told the animal to stay by the entrance where he took the incense before, but it began to follow him inside.

"You don't need to come in with me."

Despite his statement, Nana continued after him.

"Well, if you insist…let's hope you can fight."

Things were about to get…difficult.

* * *

Screams and yells came echoing through the cavern as Trixie began to be led back to her room by Glubtok. She looked off the boat to where a series of docks led to a shore that in turn led in to an upper part of the cave through a mouth in the wall.

"What's that noise?" Helix groaned.

Extremely pained cries could be heard, including those from one person whose cries came out in words, "GUST…OF WIND—"

The speaker didn't finish as their voice collapsed into an audible wheeze that echoed still. Everyone nearby Trixie seemed to recognize it, and Helix slammed his hand down on a piece of timber he was standing by.

"Damnit, that damned Captain got free again!"

Ripsnarl growled as he looked to where he could hear the noise all coming from, "When is that damned fool going to give up?"

Helix piped back up, "Can we kill him this time? He's the worst hostage ever! We can't even use him to barter since Stormwind doesn't know we're here just yet!"

His boss didn't respond, his eyes narrowing on the opening to the rest of the cave where his sensitive ears were picking up everything.

Helix continued on, quite thoroughly fed up with the constant attempts this soldier made at getting free, "We can't afford for him to ruin anything at this point. At least he's trying to break out, not in. We put the new guys up front, so we're not really losing anything."

Ripsnarl sighed and then nodded, acquiescing to the request with a heavy heart.

"Glub'tok, go deal with it. He's been starved for weeks, some fire should put him down. I'll escort the prisoner to her room."

Just as Trixie got a few steps forward to accommodate her new guard, a voice to the side made her long ears stand up straight.

"Helix, you too. Just to be sure."

Trixie gaped as she watched Helix bow before Vanessa, whose confidence suddenly made sense in retrospect. This was V. Vanessa…VanCleef.

Her father was Edwin VanCleef, the man Trixie was told was murdered years back.

"Vanessa…"

Ripsnarl approached Vanessa as Helix and Glubtok left them as commanded. His face displayed concern for Vanessa, though he seemed hesitant to say or do anything with it.

"Will you…be okay?"

Vanessa watched as her two lieutenants left them and went to quell the minor riot, "I only killed two people I loved dearly. I'll be fine with you killing their nephew."

Trixie was distracted partially by her words, but a bigger part of her was screaming that this was her chance. If anything, this would be her opportunity to slip away while attention was directed elsewhere. Once she was back in her room she could slip out the way she came and make a break for it…wherever it would take her.

"HARPOON!"

Everyone turned back to face the loud shout from the jailbreaker, whose fervor was quite admirable to all but those fighting to keep him chained.

"Damn knight, just give up already!"

The second, and last, battle for the Deadmines was just beginning.

* * *

_**Author's Note: Now we have double the pets! **_

_**Vanessa: Cookie, Trixie: Kael—I mean Nana.**_

_**The Stormwind Captain based on a person I ran into in WoW on my Trixie character...who in turn is based on someone else. Anyone who knows the reference without looking it up wins! I always preferred Rod Typhoon to Harpoon, but one must start somewhere...**_

_**Thank you for reading, and I hope to hear from you in the comments below!**_


	17. Level 17: Hell In A Prison

**_A/N: Special thanks to futureshock for the only review last time. Sorry it's taken so long to update, but I really stopped using this site for awhile but now I'm back._  
**

_**On a side note, special thanks to whoever wrote the Hellena Prison level of LotD, as I am referencing your work just like Blizzard likes doing their own references. And by that, I mean Blizzard and I rip something off, change the dialogue a bit, and then laugh as we amuse ourselves with in-jokes few will get.**_

_**Hope you all enjoy, and I look forward to hearing from you all after we meet our newest member of team Lulamoon-Sunstrider! (Moon-Sun? Night and Day? Ah well, they can figure out a title later.)**_

* * *

Once Kael set foot inside the entrance of the Deadmines he knew instantly that he was in over his head. Not that it would stop him, but it was most certainly not going to be easy. He could hear in the distance the echoes of mine picks, the murmur of voices, and the creak of machinery. The mercenary from before with the green armor and oily hair had said if Kael was who he claimed to be a normal Human would be no threat…hopefully that meant that, for the amnesiac Kael, he had the potential to take on far greater odds than someone of his level ought to be capable of.

Of course, it had been said as an insulting reality check, but Kael did like the thought that he had power even if it was not readily available to him. He was Kael'Thas Sunstrider, right? Then he had created a reputation off of something back before his amnesia.

Taking a peek into the dark cavern with only torches to light it made Kael further realize that if this was like most caverns it would branch out and not just have one tunnel…and he likely would not have the time to keep track of what led where once he began his raid on the Defias. They wouldn't be happy with him, and getting lost and cornered would mean death most likely.

Getting lost made him recall that he had a very detailed map of the land, which Kael retrieved from a pocket and began to peruse as Nana swam around the air by his knees. By the time the Mana Wyrm had completed three laps around him Kael had located what he had been hoping for.

"The map has details on this place?" he smirked as he noticed notes even about troop movements that were likely out of date now, though the names Mr. Smite, Sneed, and Gilnid made Kael wonder if they had been…obstacles given how they were scripted in specifically in certain places on the pathway, "Reuenthal is one to pay attention to detail, I suppose."

A quick study of the map showed Kael that his intuition had been correct: he'd have been hopelessly lost if he had not consulted it. After memorizing which ways he would have to travel, Kael decided it was time to go about enacting his one man rescue.

No-one was at this end of the cave's mouth where he would enter in and begin his descent underground, but a voice was not too far off in the distance. Kael could hear them talking about having to come all the way up here for a forgotten cart and the complainer was blaming the miners for whatever had happened.

"A mine cart?"

Kael glanced around the "room" he was in to see if he could locate it. Surely enough, the Defias member complaining was not complaining for nothing: a large mine cart sat in the center of the room. Kael rushed over to it without another moment passing and looked inside: it was half full, and it had a tarp of sorts lying lazily on top of it. Smiling to himself, Kael climbed inside the cart and pulled the tarp so that it covered him completely. By curling up he managed to fit himself, though his sword was not quite as flexible. It poked out at the edge of the tarp but Kael just had to hope in the bad lighting the one coming to get the cart would not take notice.

Nana found her own way in under the tarp and nestled into Kael's chest, causing him to shhh her since her serpent tail was tapping on the tarp right above them. She listened, seemingly quite well trained and intelligent for an animal, just in time for the drudging along Defias grunt approached the cart. They didn't pay it any mind as they began to push it, instead focusing on their own woes as they realized the weight of their job.

"This thing weighs a damn ton!" the criminal cursed as he continued to push it along, "Should have made that tough guy Slambert do it. What good are prisoners for if they won't do our chores for us?"

Kael was grateful that this person obviously was too wrapped up in their own world to give him much notice, but he had a backup plan already: his sword could always be moved to impale the man should he become wary of his cart. While Kael doubted there were many Elves around these parts, he could swap clothes with the fool.

Fortunately it did not have to come to that, as the mine cart was slowly pushed down the pathways leading toward the inner sanctum of the cave, where the real operations were centered including a foundry and a…mast room? Kael had no idea what that was, but he was quite sure it would be disappointing once he found out.

After it came to a halt, with the Defias man grunting something about needing to take a break, Kael peeked outside by moving the tarp gingerly. Outside he could see a group of people striking the hard soil of the cavern while a few guards in mixtures of red, black, and brown leather and cloth armor all overlooked them.

He made it. Nobody was expecting a sudden attack, and perhaps if he struck them down fast enough he could give himself another moment to plan the next step of this daring rescue.

Nobody was looking at the unassuming mine cart, so when Kael slowly removed himself from it he did not draw anyone's attention. They were all busy talking, yelling at their prisoners who stood in shackles as they were forced to mine, and the strikes of the metal against rock and minerals made more noise than him.

"W-who are you!?"

Unfortunately the man who had been pushing the cart had not gone far. He was exhausted from his labor though and was slow to react as Kael lunged forward and silenced him with a slash across the throat. They weren't going to go easy on him, and he couldn't afford to be merciful with such dire odds.

By then the others in the chamber had all taken note of him and their now deceased comrade, and a variety of yells and clinks of metal rung in the cave.

"I'm discovered…" Kael cursed as he prepared himself for battle. He had hoped to ride out this stealth boon as long as he could, but now he was forced into the first of many conflicts that day.

Kael was just glad he had grabbed a quick nap before he arrived at the Deadmines, or else he'd be falling over from exhaustion. Some food had been provided in the box of belongings, though he still near famished. If he had to confront this entire dungeon of men without rest or food he would be even worse off than the impossible odds he was starting with.

There were eight guards in this particular chamber, though Kael had been expecting triple that number. Perhaps the majority of their forces were out preparing to assault Stormwind? That would be helpful for him here.

One approached Kael before all the others, thinking him just some random Elf who was trying something stupid. A fireball melting through his gut gave his comrades a good idea that Kael was not fooling around, him having prepared the magic as he struck the first man down.

All seven remaining people decided to rush him all at once, swords and blades drawn for six of them and a staff raised for the last, a woman with a blue glow of magical energy in her hand. She did not finish her spell though as a Mana Wyrm bit her hand and the glow disappeared, the Mana Wyrm seemingly taking the power for itself as it glowed right then as the hand ceased to.

Kael kicked the cart over against two of his assailants, crushing the legs of one and sending the other reeling. Not all of them seemed to be well trained, as Kael easily parried the first to reach him, though he supposed it made sense for a group of newly recruited folk who were formerly destitute and likely never held a sword before were quite unskilled at combat.

Kael did not have this problem, and with a strong heave he disarmed the man both by removing their sword and removing part of the limb that had held it. The man howled in pain as Kael grabbed him by the shoulder and forced him in the way of the others, and the cry of pain stopped as the man's heart was.

The other Defias members removed their blades from their dead comrade right at the moment their spellcasting comrade called out to them, though only two of the remaining four standing by Kael looked back to see what was happening.

"Get the damn beast!" the woman Mage cried out as Nana assaulted her viciously and relentlessly, not going for any killing strikes but brutalizing the woman's neck and up with strong slams and the occasional bite.

Kael tossed the dead Defias man in his hand over at the two not facing his way, and once it crashed into one of them that destabilized thug stumbled over into the other. They each fell down, but that left Kael with two left at the same time. He blocked the blade of one as the other brought their dagger right into his stomach.

The Prince fought the urge to verbalize his pain, for he was trying to focus on gathering up strength for a second fire attack. A second and third strike of the dagger into his flesh made him finally let out a growl of pain, though he was quite glad his leather armor was stopping a good deal of the weapon's penetration.

He glanced over at the woman stabbing at him and smirked as her next strike was stopped midway. He had removed one of his hands from his two-handed weapon and had clasped it around her skinny arm. She gave him a confused look as he began to be forced back by her comrade, but after a moment Kael let go and she forced herself back.

Kael had learned this trick a bit ago, yet he had not had much of a chance to use it yet…now he was quite free to do it as Trixie was the one keeping him from trying out what he read.

The woman took a step back before noticing that her arm was glowing. She brought it up to her face as Kael went back to stopping her partner's assault. By the time Kael got the strength back to push back the man he was in a power struggle with, the woman's whole body had the same glow and then…boom.

The explosion was great enough to blast through and kill the man beside her as well as kill the person Kael had disorientated with the cart. Living Bomb was the name, and it was quite sinister…and effective.

No longer under direct threat, Kael looked over and noticed that the Mage had finally managed to knock Nana back for a moment and then sling a quick spell forward at the Wyrm. Nana let out a small pained noise as she dropped from the air and fell down, though she did not revert to a shimmering orb like Wyrms would when they were dead. The Mage had been on her back when she managed to free herself from the animal, though Kael made sure she never got up.

As Kael approached the smoldering Mage he noticed a shiny set of keys laying nearby one of the dead Defias members. He grabbed the keys and tossed them over to where the prisoners were cowering in fear, apparently each of them fearful that he would kill them. They were skinny things, weak from starvation and exhaustion, and likely weak before even those tragedies had been inflicted on them.

"Go. You're free. I'm not going to harm you."

They wouldn't be helpful in a fight, not when they were quivering things with no strength behind them. It would be nice of them to offer to help him, but Kael wasn't even sure he would accept it. Not when it would just get them killed.

"T-thank you, s-s-sir!" one of them choked out as they set about freeing everyone. Kael ignored them as he approached the wounded Mana Wyrm. Nana had kept him from being slain by magic, but the young Mana Wyrm was not quite capable of defeating a common Mage on their own. Not yet at least.

"Nana…"

The Mana Wyrm slowly lifted itself up to a few inches off the ground, but even then it was having trouble staying afloat. Kael took out a healing potion and poured a portion on its wound, restoring it to full health, before downing the remaining part of the bottle himself. Fortunately the red of his armor kept him from seeing just how much of his own blood was coloring his clothing.

He took a hand to the Wyrm and then looked back to the way they had come in, "You're trained, so you can understand well what I am saying," Nana moved as if to nod, but it was hard to really tell with the always moving pet, "Go back to where I found you. Run and don't turn back."

It understood, but hesitated. Kael had seen how fragile it was currently, and he was grateful for what it had done, but it would be of no further use. Not without dying, he had realized, and that was unacceptable. With a forced nod towards the exit Kael finally managed to get the pet to start doing as he ordered. He couldn't afford to just carry it with him, and it wouldn't be able to fight, so this was really his only option. He just hoped it would escape as he intended…

"Trixie would kill me if I let her pet die," he whispered to himself as he watched it retreat from him, "This will get more difficult without the aid though…"

The Defias that had only been wounded were moaning and wailing, but Kael made sure to take the time to take care of them. Unfortunately for him this took long enough for a patrol of guards to come his way, with four Defias members looking around at the scene with differing looks of surprise and horror.

"What's with all the noise over here?"

"Hey! Who the Hell are you?!"

"Damnit…" Kael cursed to himself as he noticed the newest group. They were about twenty feet down the corridor he had to go down to continue towards where the main cave was, where Trixie was most likely.

"Bastard! Think you can just come on in here and—"

Kael took the next trick out of his hat, a spell named Flamestrike, and a wave of fire scorched across the ground where the four Defias members had been standing. Doing this spell made Kael feel suddenly weak, as if he had been deprived completely of his magic, and he realized he had not been tending to his Elven mana addiction…though he thought it odd that this was the case, as it had not really bothered him until now. All that really changed was that Trixie was gone, but her absence surely couldn't be causing him to feel the pain again, could it?

Two of the Defias managed to avoid the attack while the other two were roasted like turkeys for a feast, and these two proved far faster than the crowd Kael had just carved through.

One of them came at him with two blades, and while Kael managed to parry each of them with a well-placed block from his far larger sword, the man managed to slip one of the blades away from the stolen Stormwind sword and plant itself straight in Kael's shoulder.

The other wasted no time and appeared behind Kael to stab him through the back of his leather armor. Kael got to see as the blade exited the front of him, and the sight was not all that pleasing. These two were undoubtedly two of the more senior and experienced members, and they also had him outnumbered while Kael was still recovering from his last bout.

"That hurts, damnit…"

In an unexpected move Kael lifted his broadsword upward and hit the chin of the man in front of him with his sword's cross-guard, the removal of his parry causing a third blade to cut into his body. He dragged the blade across the man's close throat, and using the slight momentum behind this swing he spun himself around and tore the blade impaling him from behind from the backstabber.

The backstabber jumped back just in time to avoid being cut down by the powerful blade Kael held, but the attack still grazed across the man's gut and wounded him. The Defias guard pulled out a short blade from a sheath and charged at Kael, only to find himself impaled on a rapidly displaced blade from Kael.

Kael chuckled weakly to himself as he watched the man before him cough and fall to the ground, blood dribbling from beneath their red bandana. Kael had used his spare hand to rip one of the swords impaling him out, and by charging forth just as his opponent had he had caught the man off-guard: the Defias man had expected the heavily wounded Kael to stand his ground rather than surge forward.

"Least these potions are taking the edge off…"

Kael sighed as he healed himself with the majority of his remaining potions. His grievous wounds would not heal themselves after all, though he was grateful no magic had struck him yet. He had a feeling that would be harder to power through and tank.

"Mine quicker!"

Once he was done recovering, Kael hid against a sloped wall as he heard the voice yelling further down in the corridor. He was still winded and he did not want to risk himself when he could ambush whoever it was with a moment of planning.

The voice held a cruel intonation, and the crack of a whip made the person's voice seem all the worse. They were forcing prisoners to mine for them…better than killing their prisoners, but still anything but kind.

"I said," another crack of the whip, and with enough edging in their direction Kael could finally see them without being easily noticed, "Mine quicker!

The one being whipped was someone in the silver and blue armor of Stormwind, though it was torn and damaged to the point where it ceased to be actual protection and armor. The prisoner was worn ragged and Kael was actually thankful their helmet was concealing their face: the metal was likely hiding the man's pained expression that would match the crimson red running down his back.

Across from him was one of the Defias thugs who stood with whip in hand, ready to strike yet again moments after the last. Another similar man was beside him, and they had their own duplicate prisoner. Two Stormwind soldiers, new to the scene by the looks of it, who hadn't even been stripped of their ragged armor before being forced to work.

With the crack of a whip one of the prisoners cried in pain, though they said nothing as their torturer and guard scoffed at their pain, "You have such bad luck! You will regret not being killed in battle!

"What do you mean?" the first prisoner gasped in-between swings of his pickaxe. His body was littered with other wounds, indicative of a recent struggle he had lost before being brought here.

Another scoff, followed by another lash, "You really believe you can live comfortably down here? Our boss, VanCleef, will work you to death down here. Just as you damn 'noble' knights deserve!"

The two guards, who Kael recognized as the poor folk he had spoken to at Sentinel Hill, the two he cast a blind eye to as they spoke of joining the Defias. That said, he had warned them that he would not forgive them should they join the Defias and do ill deeds, for Kael's sympathies ended at taking down those at fault for the inequities and problems they faced. They were torturing two normal soldiers and enjoying it, soldiers who likely had nothing at all to do with what happened to them and to the Defias.

Even Vanessa seemed remorseful about what she had done, and she was leading them. But with such rapid recruitment of so many people, perhaps the matter had gone by with focus on quantity over quality.

As Kael pondered ways to go about killing the two sadistic men and freeing the prisoners, the prisoner who had yet to speak spun around and began to rush at his captor in a split moment the man had taken to look at his compatriot.

A sword was pulled out, and the rush ended as the captive stopped right in front of the outstretched sword held at him. He wouldn't have been able to reach much farther due to his chains, but he could of at least swung at his tormentor, as futile as it might be.

Kael admired the resolve, but cursed the action. If the man had bided his time a few moments longer Kael could have made his strike, but now the guards were fully alert and the one who hadn't been assaulted was even looking around.

"Ooops..." the Stormwind captive spoke for the first time, and even then it was weak. His voice sounded like his throat had been hurt, though it was not possible to see the damage he had received to it due to his armor.

The soldier stepped back away from the sword, but the other took a step forward. His hands were cuffed together, but he had a pickaxe he was willing to swing. His bound legs and his bound hands would make an actual fight completely one-sided, but the man was standing with pride as he faced down the Defias duo.

"You want to work us to death? I won't let you humiliate us anymore!"

He took a swing, but the guard swung their sword hard into the side of the man's only intact piece of armor on his abdomen. The result knocked the proud soldier back a few feet, but it did not take him off his feet. The impact did enough to wind the already wounded soldier though, and he didn't surge back forward to face his foe again.

"Oh, feisty feisty. It's the worst kind of prisoner, but the best kind of worker. You'll be good at digging holes until you have to dig your own."

The soldier slowly took a step back forward, to the utter amusement of the two tormentors, "If you want to kill me, kill me now."

"I won't let him!"

Kael watched as the body of one Defias member was flung onto the ground right beside the farther thug. The two men and their captives all looked further down the corridor to where a blonde man in nothing but weathered green pants emerged with a spear in hand. His bare chest revealed that he had once been muscular, but was severely weakened from starvation. Even still he had knocked the now dead Defias member flying far enough to surprise the two guards with his sudden entry through a door beyond them.

As the new entry to the conflict twirled his weapon around and flung blood from its steel shaft, the guard who had been speaking the most rushed to confront the free prisoner. The ragged man ended up levying his spear in their direction, though given the spear's greater reach than the guard's sword the guard stopped before he impaled himself on the larger weapon. The attention diverted from them, the prisoners moved away from the soon to-be fight between two guards and this newcomer.

"Sir Lavitz!" the Stormwind soldiers called out, their previously worn and tired voices revitalized at the sight of an ally.

The guard who had approached Lavitz felt comfortable in the fact his opponent was starved, and thus barely standing, but even still he was not so foolish as to approach the man as Lavitz stood ready to fight, "You...you bastard!? You broke out of your chains again!?"

He used a moment of slight staggering on the part of the starved man to rush in and slash at the half-naked soldier, but even in his state Lavitz brought his acquired spear up to block the overhead sword strike.

"Idiot, you think you can escape from here alone!?" the guard grunted as he tried to force down through the spear and cut the man blocking with it. His partner was keeping his eyes on the other two prisoners and as such had no ability to assist his comrade.

"I'll take care of this!" Lavitz yelled as he began to slide his spear down in a way that deflected his foe's sword to the ground. Hearing his words seemed to inspire the two others, as the more silent one knocked over the guard by them with a throw of a pickaxe while the other smashed their chains with his own pickaxe aided by respectable strength and broke the metal links crudely.

Lavitz finished moving his spear down and knocked his opponent's weapon to the ground, quickly following it up with a quick jab through the man's gut, "Survive and go back to Stormwind alive! Tell the King—"

Kael moved to approach the escapees as a friend, but they rushed right past him and went on up the corridor he had come down. He opened his mouth to call to them that there were still more guards up there and that they were in danger so long as they were tied up, but the words never got to his lips: a Defias member Kael had gotten past without killing quickly murdered each of the would be escapees.

"I took care of those guys!" The guard who did it actually ran past Kael's hiding place to go and approach his other ally, who had begun to engage Lavitz in combat.

Kael cursed himself for not acting sooner, having felt torn between helping people he considered his enemies fight his current enemies, but this was not a time for indecision. His body might ache and his mind might complain, but this was his chance to break in as a powerful soldier broke out.

"So this is rebellion..." On both ends, Kael mused, as he moved to join the fray. The rebels were facing a rebellion of their own in the form of an escaped prisoner.

Lavitz sidestepped his opponent and ran them through with his spear before they could correct their mistake, and while seemingly winded and strained he wasted no time before rushing at the newest foe to come his way. The two cautiously looked eachother over as Lavitz held the greater reach, but a misstep would get him killed even so.

Kael would have cut down the Defias member from behind if he himself was not assaulted from behind, although not without the warning of footsteps. Kael spun around as he lunged out of the way, bringing his own sword to bear as he parried the next strike.

"You! Who are you!? Are you a dog of Stormwind too!?" the fourth guard growled to him as they took a step forward and swung down with fervor in the hopes of cutting Kael down even as they asked him his identity.

Kael did not oblige them, instead letting their sword sail just by him. He used this time to swung the handle of his sword into their head, following through the swing arc to cut through the man's neck. Now was not the time for mercy.

This left Kael free to once again aid and get to the escaping prisoner. Said prisoner was rapidly stabbing at his own opponent right then, barely being parried as the Defias member was slowly forced back and back into a corner, at which point a spear thrust caught him straight through the throat.

A man came rushing from the way Lavitz had come, one of likely a multitude of guards sent after him, and the Defias man managed to hit Lavitz hard enough to make him stumble. Despite this Lavitz swung his spear and knocked the man off his feet with such strength that Kael was quite sure he heard the man's neck snap.

Seeing the red of Kael's armor and associating it with the Defias, Lavitz's next attack was straight at the man trying to help him.

"Who are you!?" Lavitz yelled as he charged Kael, his words finishing just as Kael managed to barely block the spear being shoved his way. The situation devolved into a struggle between the spear's shaft and Kael's blade, each man pushing and trying to gain power over the other.

As Kael did his best to hold his own against the knight he managed to speak a bit, "My name is Kael—" he was losing ground, for the starved man actually possessed even greater strength than what Kael possessed. He feared just how powerful the man had been before he had been deprived of sufficient nutrients to maintain his original physique.

Nearly losing the struggle, Kael focused his attention on finishing his statement so that there would be no need for conflict. This was not the battle he needed to be waging, and he did not want to waste energy on someone who was not a foe, "I am not your enemy!"

Quickly assessing that he was fighting an Elf, a race not known to be joined with the Westfall bandits, Lavitz backed off and put a good few feet between them. The man dropped his spear to a passive position, its point facing directly up at the ceiling as he looked over Kael with interest.

"I am Lavitz Slambert! I am the captain and head of Stormwind's first Knighthood."

That certainly explained why the man was so capable, if he was in charge of such a prestigious group. This was quite the fortunate turn of events, actually, for Kael had not expected any help and now this man had killed a good deal of guards. On the other hand, he had caused a conflict of his own and was going to draw attention to them.

More guards came from both ends of the hallway, one approaching Kael from his side and another approaching Lavitz from his own.

"Well, it seems we don't have time for introductions!" Lavitz spoke as he spun around and faced his own opponent. Kael took a step back and their backs met as they stared down their newest enemies.

"It seems we do not…" Kael replied with annoyance, though it wasn't directed at his ally of opportunity. There were simply too many opponents for either one of them to succeed on their own…but for the moment their goals were aligned: survive.

* * *

Trixie was trudging along slowly as she tried to listen to the yells and battle going on beyond the shipyard and up the cave. The echoing of it all was soon cut out after a thick door sealed and was secured to the mouth of the corridor where the racket all was originating. After Foe Reaper 9000 had been sent to go help the others as extra insurance, the Defias decided to play things safe and lock everything down until things quieted. Before it closed though, Trixie could swear it sounded like more than just one person fighting all the Defias members…

Ripsnarl had been assigned to look after Trixie and bring her back to her room, specifically ordered to make sure she did not escape again under any circumstances, and he noted her slow pace with some frustration.

"Come on, princess, pick up the pace. You won't be going anywhere anytime soon, so go back to being a good prisoner, okay? I'd hate to have to render you incapable of moving to get the point across."

Princess…that word struck a cord in Trixie.

Had she been a princess? Something told her no…but something else made it sound possible. Maybe she had known a princess?

Princess, princess, princess…yes, that was most definitely ringing a bell. Prince? Well, Kael, obviously, but she felt like there was at least another she could recall…

The inane chatter of somepony, the annoying voice, smug attitude, pampered white fur, a need to belittle all others—oh how just the thought of this phantom equine being made Trixie want to hit them, strangle them, do anything to get them away because the more they weighed in on her mind the more a headache began to form in her head. Who was this person, why did they cause this reaction in her?

_"How about it? Would you like to be just like your whore of a mother? I can add you to my list of consorts. Plenty of mares here in Canterlot are willing to do anything for a few bits, not to mention social status…"_

That voice, that pony…Trixie balled up her fists and clenched her teeth in anger. Oh what she'd do to just make them stop! Words beyond her comprehension continued, but the overall feeling of the memory continued to play on.

_"SHUT UP"_

That voice was her own, Trixie realized, right at the same time the final piece of the memory washed over her.

Ripsnarl spun to face Trixie as he heard her fall to her knees, "Are you alright? Ms. Lulamoon?"

Trixie was blankly staring ahead as she remained on her knees. She had a feeling in that last bit of what she could recall. She could remember something in distinct detail, and if she was not so frozen by the thought she would be physically sick.

She felt as if she had killed someone, and she felt that she had done it in recent history.

What had she done that led her to this suddenly foreign, strange place?

Trixie only hoped these were false memories, figments of an overactive imagination…but in her heart she knew there was some truth to it all. Perhaps she would find the truth to it all when she was freed, but for now she was left with the haunting thought that she was no better than the people she found herself surrounded by.

* * *

Kael had to hand it to the Stormwind for once: they had created a damn good soldier. Lavitz had suited up with some armor laying about and while it was nowhere near as good as a full suit of it, he was no longer bare to the blades he would be confronting.

Of course, before armoring up the man had managed to stave off the first few attackers with Kael at his back and doing the same. After saving eachother from the initial surge of Defias members, Lavitz had armored himself more and Kael had granted him a potion to heal with. The Stormwind soldier had more than earned it, and Kael honestly felt like the man could use something in his stomach.

This done, Lavitz approached his two fallen comrades and knelt down beside them. Kael did not interrupt the man as he instead stood guard, though to his pleasure no more Defias showed up. They didn't seem to be all that organized, which Kael took as a sign of fortune and logic: they had recently swelled their ranks considerably, of course they didn't have a well oiled machine going in terms of organization. It was probably only a few souls a few weeks back, and now it was dozens if not hundreds.

"I will bring word of your bravery home," Lavitz stood up and looked to Kael, "You said your name is Kael. Common Elf name, right?" Kael nodded, not sure how much he wanted to reveal just yet. Accepting this basic response, Lavitz continued, "I cannot imagine why somebody, especially someone who isn't a Human, would intentionally assault the Defias. What are you up to?"

He had lowered his weapon, so it wasn't a frightful inquisition. Just genuine curiosity from a man who ought to be using this time to escape. The fact that the Human was standing a few feet before him still baffled Kael. Didn't this man want to make a break for Stormwind a moment ago?

About this matter, Kael thought he could at least speak truly. Why he was there was not something sinister or bad after all: he came to save his only real companion and friend.

Kael averted his eyes to the ground as he spoke, the thought of Trixie being harmed making him equal parts furious and depressed, "I am here to rescue someone important to me. Do you know anything about her? Her name is Trixie."

Lavitz took a hand to his chin and thought for a moment, even turning away slightly as he became lost in thought. After a moment of this though he hung his head and shook it negatively. He didn't know anything.

"I am sorry, but..."

Kael sighed, not knowing why he'd expect a prisoner nearly killed through starvation to know what was happening in the dungeon. He held up a hand to silence the sorrow of the sympathetic Human, "It is fine. I will continue looking."

With that, Kael moved to go the way Lavitz had come from, but before he could even take two steps he heard the rustle of armor and a hand clasped down on his shoulder.

"Wait! I'll go with you," Lavitz stated, pointing to himself with one finger. His pale face and blonde hair were worn and dirtied by his time in the Deadmines, but he seemed quite resolute nonetheless.

An offer to help, from a Human Kael didn't even know? They were surely fire forged comrades a moment ago, but the immediate threat was gone. Why would a man with nothing to gain want to help him, especially since he had almost gained the freedom he had fought for?

Kael turned to face the man as curiosity crept into his own voice this time, "I thought you had to go back to Stormwind as soon as possible?"

Lavitz lowered his arms to being placed on his hips. He was looking over the sullen expression Kael held ever since bringing up his reason for being in the Deadmines, and in a moment Lavitz could tell that he was looking at a man who was in pain due to the loss of a loved one.

"She's important, this girl you are looking for?"

Kael could hear the sympathy in the man's voice, and it actually surprised him. He didn't expect some Human from Stormwind to take pity on him, not after everything he had heard about the city. But, much like the Saldeans, this man was quite abnormal in that regard…he had a heart and soul. He had empathy, so much so that after weeks of physical torture and pain he was willing to lend help to someone he never met before.

The purity of the soldier's offer actually unnerved Kael, who did not think of himself as really selfish or petty before coming face to face with the ideal knights ought to look to for both strength and kindness, "It's my problem. It was my fault, so you need not concern yourself with it. You have your duty to carry out."

Lavitz took a step and then turned so he was horizontal with Kael, allowing him to place a comforting hand on his shoulder while his own eyes looked to the dead bodies of the other Stormwind soldiers, "I don't know what brought you here but this place is not that easy to go through alone."

Kael did not respond, though he understood what the knight was saying. He needed the help, even if it felt weird from a Human he just met.

The soldier lowered his hand so he could cross his arms, only to then turn and look at Kael with his arms unfolded, "That goes for me too. I can break out from here together with you!" he paused before laughing a little, "Of course, with the girl."

"I am flattered you do, but how come you trust me?" Kael questioned, unsure if the man was naïve or if he was perceptive. One might get them both killed, one might save their lives.

"The raid you made was quite impressive to have come this far alone. Because of that I trusted you to guard my back, and you did. The way I see it you're earned my trust."

That finalized Kael's decision. He could use a skilled Warrior on his side, even if it was temporary compared to his arrangement with Trixie, "All right. Let's go together."

"You two are the ones doing all this?"

"We gonna kill you!"

Approaching them now was a lumbering giant humanoid being with sickly yellow skin. It had two heads, and neither looked happy.

Despite the new challenge in their shared path now, Lavitz smiled as he placed himself in front of Kael and began to approach the lumbering being.

"I bet you can cast some magic," he spoke softly to Kael, "I'll draw his attention, you do what you can to hurt him."

That was a plan Kael could get behind, because his own entire body looked to be a little bit bigger than just one of this being's arms.

Lavitz took a sword blow shirtless, surely in armor he could tank a hulking being, right?

Whether he could or not would soon be tested as Lavitz charged forth and prepared to assault the far larger humanoid. As he did this Kael prepared his fire spells, and the battle began once more.

* * *

**_A/N: Introducing party member 3, Lavitz Slambert, Warrior tank with slight Monk influences. Lavitz was my favorite playable character in my favorite game ever "Legend of the Dragoon", and while playing as my Trixie character I ran into a player who was pretending to be Lavitz, so here we are! Was wondering what I should use as a tank, and I found one in-game that was already a character I love! Poor Kael can't tough out every hit after all, especially since he's only facing normal people right now and is overwhelmed._**

_**Thank you for reading, and I hope you all enjoyed and will let me know your thoughts in the reviews below! More I hear from you guys, the easier it is to update!**_


	18. Level 18: At The Bottom of the Deadmines

****_A/N: Special thanks to KingHoborg and FutureShock for your reviews last chapter, they really helped me out and if it wasn't for you I wouldn't have been able to update so swiftly given how large this is! Thank you again, and I hope to continue hearing from you guys._****

_**On a side note, special thanks to whoever wrote the the various things I am referencing this chapter, as I am referencing your work just like Blizzard likes doing their own references. And by that, I mean Blizzard and I rip something off, change the dialogue a bit, and then laugh as we amuse ourselves with in-jokes few will get.**_

_**Hope you all enjoy, and I look forward to hearing from you all after we finish our first dungeon!**_

* * *

"Glub'tok show you da power of da arcane!"

So the two headed behemoth was named Glub'tok, and it seemed to be channeling magic in its palms as it stood in the center of what appeared to be a storage room of sorts, with barrels on the far side and a mine cart rail running up to a door that sat closed on the far side.

The large being, known as an Ogre to the more experienced Lavitz, finished channeling its magic just before the knight of Stormwind reached him. From its fists launched a torrent of flame much like what Kael was capable of using, albeit with a far greater spread and, from how Kael could feel it from halfway across the room, greater heat.

"Fists of flame!"

Lavitz dodged it by getting closer and simply moving slightly to the side of where the flames originated. In doing so Glub'tok was left open to a thrust of the knight's spear, and when it buried itself in the behemoth's burgeoning gut Glub'tok let out a guttural scream of pain.

Not about to let this moment of opportunity pass, Kael used what little magical energy he had to launch his own fiery magic at Glub'tok. This attack made the shirtless being stumble back in pain, but it did not prevent it from once again charging up its magic even as Lavitz began hacking away at its unarmored body.

"Glub'tok ready!" the first head spoke as another ball of fire magic formed in its hand.

As expected, the attention of the beast was focused on the closest enemy, Lavitz, but Kael noticed that the man was not the fastest. Would he be able to avoid this second scorching blast? From a distance and without mana Kael was left useless for the moment, so he could only watch as Glub'tok's second head spoke up.

"Let's do it!"

Surely enough the fire magic was thrown straight down, right into the lumbering Lavitz. The knight may have a high level of strength and skill, but whether it be natural or caused by his starvation, he was not quick enough to move out of the way. The fire struck him and knocked the man off his feet, the fire overwhelming him as it carried him back.

"S'ploded dat one!" the second head of Glub'tok proudly stated as Lavitz fell from the fire, making Kael realize that even armor could not resist magic…and while his comrade was quite stalwart, he was not well suited to taking hits from magic.

Despite this, even overwhelmed by the magical fire still rushing past him and burning his skin and armor, Lavitz slowly stood up and got to his knees. The magic ended with Glub'tok realizing that his foe was not actually dead, and while the knight's blonde hair was a little burnt he was still resisting the urge to collapse as he slowly lifted his spear from by his side to perpendicular position to the ground, allowing him to use it to stand up.

This stamina seemed to amuse Glub'tok, but it did not give the Ogre any pity for his foe. He held up a hand again while his second head began to chant.

"Fist of froooost!"

Magic similar to what Trixie harnessed formed in the Ogre's palms, but the attack never finished as a two-handed blade embedded itself in one palm. Glub'tok's magic did not fizzle out but rather it exploded where his hand was pierced, and the Ogre recoiled from the attack as he realized that by focusing on Lavitz so much that he had forgotten about his second foe.

Kael ripped the blade out and went on the offensive, swinging at Glub'tok to force the Ogre back even further. This interrupted the rest of the spellcasting, and it would be the last spell Glub'tok would have the chance to fully use in the encounter as Lavitz picked up on Kael's lead and hurled his spear straight into the second open palm of the Ogre.

Glub'tok ripped the spear out of his hand in a fury before throwing his hands to either side of him and pointing the palms up at the ceiling, energy coursing all around him. Kael actually jumped back as a wall of flame surrounded the Ogre, unsure what to do since he had no mana to attack at range and fighting inside of fire would be suicidal.

Fortunately, he would not have to solve that issue, for as Glub'tok's power began to surge around him in the form of lightning leaving the tips of his fingers, he began to float…and the power began to go crazy. His hands, the conduits of his magic, were damaged, and he could not control his own power.

"TOOOO! MUUUUUUCH! POOOOOWERRRR!"

The lightning swirled around him faster and faster until it suddenly changed course and went inwards, flowing into his body and electrocuting the Ogre with his own power. After a moment of this he fell to the ground and collapsed, though he noticeably was not dead given the small movements of his chest. He wouldn't be getting up anytime soon though.

Kael helped his partner to his feet, grateful for not being the one struck by such powerful magic that ought to have outright killed a normal man, and let him drink some of the last healing potion to recover from the ordeal.

Kael walked past Glub'tok and to the far door while Lavitz moved to retrieve his discarded spear, "Leave him. He is defeated, and I did not come here with the intent of taking any more lives than I have to."

Lavitz smirked, approving the well natured display while also noting that it could haunt them later, "Very well. I only hope this won't come back to bite us later. The Defias are a hardy bunch."

"We beat him once, we can do so again. For all his power he was quite unskilled," Kael reasoned. And perhaps the next time he would have the mana required to cast his magic, rather than idly watch for a moment.

Still, it did not help Kael from realizing too that taking the merciful path might not be the intelligent one…but it is what Trixie would want, if at all possible, and he was doing this all for her, so he may as well try and abide by her code this once. He had killed the others, but back then he had no choice. Now he had a skilled Warrior at his side and things would not be quite as difficult.

Lavitz nodded as he moved to the door, which Kael had pulled open given that it had not been locked since its last usage, "Holding back on her account I presume?"

Kael gave the Human a confused look, but Lavitz held a hand up to silence him before Kael could lie, "I've seen that look on a soldier's face before. Usually at diplomatic meetings and the like. The 'I want to do the pragmatic thing and kill the person, but something is keeping me from doing it' look."

"You are perceptive for a warrior—"

"Damnit, you beat Glubtok?!"

The two men looked over across the cavern hallway they were in to see that on top of a pinkish-fat being that was different than the Ogre sat a small, yellow-green being known as a Goblin known to those of the Deadmines as Helix Gearbreaker.

The fat-pink thing known as a Hobgoblin dully looked at them as the being riding on its back shook its head and pulled something out of its pocket.

"You know what? The Mistress will pay me handsomely for your heads! BOMBS AWAY!"

Kael saw the bomb being thrown at him as it sailed across the room, and he barely managed to dive out of its way when it went off. Lavitz was already ahead of him and charged straight at the Hobgoblin, who was armed with two clawed gauntlets.

Kael forced himself to muster up another spell and flung it at the Hobgoblin just before Lavitz impaled it straight through the gut, not wasting a moment when faced with a giant creature capable of crushing a man in its bare hands even without magic powered gauntlets like it had.

Unfortunately, the dumb being seemed to not notice the massive pain it was in just yet and grabbed Lavitz by the shoulder.

"Ready Oafy? Throw!" Helix yelled, and the Hobgoblin listened. It took Lavitz's smaller frame and hurled it against the far wall with such strength that it caused stones to fall from the ceiling and for Lavitz to become embedded in the soft soil he had struck.

This did not stun the Warrior for long, as while Kael approached to slash at the Hobgoblin Lavitz once again rushed forth and impaled the beast a second time, though he followed it up by ripping the spear out of the gut and then slashing it straight across the beast's body.

Sparing when possible was one thing, but they could only do so much.

The Hobgoblin roared in pain as it swerved back and forth, its innards torn open by the seemingly practiced spear-play, and Helix had to jump off to avoid being crushed by the creature as in its death throes it slammed backwards into the carven wall.

Kael managed to bat away a quick bomb thrown at them by Helix, but the Goblin proved quicker than either of them as it recovered from its fall and ran right at each of them.

"Ahhh, I didn't need him!" hurtling himself on Lavitz, Helix yelled, "Not when I've got you oafs!"

In armor Lavitz was not able to maneuver well enough to actually grab the small being gripping his abdomen, especially after Helix flipped himself over onto Lavitz's back and pulled out a dagger to impale him. This failed as Lavitz twisted his body around and nearly flung Helix off, causing the strike to miss, but also placing Helix out of the range of Kael, since Lavitiz's back was no longer facing him.

"Turn!" Kael yelled, and fortunately the command was understood by his ally, as Lavitz spun around again to leave Helix in the direction of Kael. Helix's next swing of his knife embedded itself in the collarbone of Lavitz, but the knight ignored the pain as Kael smashed the Goblin off of him with a strong swing of the sword.

"Damn…that was close," Lavitz chuckled nervously as Helix crashed into the wall nearby his former mount. Kael sighed, once again glad that he was not doing this alone, as he was quite sure either Glub'tok or Helix could have taken him alone.

"The scaaaales…have…tipped…" Helix groaned before collapsing, the sword's blow having struck the small being hard enough to deprive him on consciousness. His small body did not have the constitution required to tank hits like the study Lavitz could, who had a broad body that helped demonstrate the difference between a Human body and an Elvish one: he had a far broader chest and while he was a couple inches shorter than Kael, he appeared far more muscular even despite his starvation.

Once again free to take in a breath and not worry about fighting right away, Lavitz began to do some basic stretches to help out his jammed joints. Kael was growing more and more impressed by the man's fortitude that he did not even ask for what little was left of their healing supplies, despite having a wound on his upper body right by the neck. Sure, Helix had not plunged the knife in too far, but Kael had to admire the resolve this man displayed.

"You know, when I get out of here, I can't wait to go home. My mother must be worried sick…"

Kael smirked, glad internally that Lavitz wasn't only a muscle-bound fool, "A mother's boy, then?"

That earned another set of laughter from the soldier, "Unapologetically. Seeing her again will make up for all of this pain," he brought a hand up to his chin as he finished the last of the stretches he felt he had to do, "I wonder if my tree will be in season when I get back? It's been so long…"

"Your tree?"

"A gift from a traveling friend from another land. His people have these beautiful trees known as cherry blossoms. I personally had always liked roses, but the beauty of the cherry blossom is like no other."

So there really was more to the man than first expected. He certainly was more like the Saldeans than the other Humans, that was for sure, "Sentimental, for a soldier. I suppose one would have to be to survive in these conditions," Kael patted his partner on the back before nodding to the path ahead, "As well as plenty strong. Stormwind must be honored to have knights of such caliber."

Lavitz did not follow at first, instead just nodding as he observed Kael, "And Silvermoon must be honored to have someone so brave and capable in their ranks. It is a shame that our people are at conflict currently."

That made Kael pause in his tracks. So he had given himself away already? "You take me for a Blood Elf?"

"A High Elf wouldn't be around these parts without good reason, and the Defias have some associates up north. They are intending to establish a northern branch where they can requisition supplies without Stormwind breathing down their necks," Lavitz pointed to Kael's face, "Your eyes also are a giveaway. Green is my favorite color, so of course I can remember that the only Elves who have green eyes are the Blood Elves, because of the fel magic you draw strength from."

Despite revealing Kael as an enemy of his nation, Lavitz then moved forward to continue down the path as they intended to: he gave no sign of actually caring that Kael was an enemy of Stormwind, not an ally.

This made Kael stop in his tracks this time as his partner got ahead of him, "And our opposed allegiances does not frighten you? What if I were to betray you?"

Lavitz shrugged as he continued to look ahead, "You are fighting through impossible odds to save the woman you love. I don't take you for an ignoble person, nor do I have any true animosity towards your race. Kael'thas and those like him are not the scourge of this land, but rather those as blind as Garithos."

His voice had grown angry at the end, but Kael did not want to press the issue. If the man hated racists such as Garithos, then so be it.

Oh, and then there was the way Lavitz described Trixie.

"She is my partner. I am obligated to find her. There need not be any romantic connotations to our relationship, nor are there."

That received an amused snort as they worked their way down the dark hallway, "I'll believe it when I see it," he paused when the sight of some soldiers caught his eye further down the hallway, "Now, do you think they're really keeping her down there? It's not generally where they keep their prisoners except in special circumstances."

"She can teleport and they seem to have a special interest in her. They are likely keeping a close eye on her."

"Well then, lets handle this crowd. I'm rested enough to fight again."

* * *

"Watch your back, and be careful out there!"

Trixie was begrudgingly sitting in her room as she listened to the sound of dozens of people rush by outside and leave to who knows where. She already had a plan to get out, but she wanted to be sure there were less people around for when she did it. They apparently were heading out to quell the riot or whatever, and that meant less guards for her…

That still left Ripsnarl though, who was the one telling his comrades to be safe. He seemed actually worried about them for whatever reason, though how bad could it be? This was their own base after all. They ought to be fine with a few prisoners breaking loose.

Once the footsteps died down, Trixie strolled over to the wall that the door was attached to. He pressed an ear against it and listened further, and with her heightened senses she confirmed that only Ripsnarl was outside. He was not even right by the door, but rather by a spot she had noticed on the way in that was flat in the middle of the boat, being the main deck and all.

If she was going to succeed in escaping, it was now or never. Trixie took a breathe in as she froze the wood of the wall and then with a mighty heave leveled the entire structure right up to where the door was. Having burst through it, she threw down a sheet of ice on the pathway between her and the werewolf-man-thing named Ripsnarl.

The man turned to face her with glowing eyes, and his furred face did not appear at all pleased by her actions, "Mmmmm…are you trying to make me angry?" he bared his claws and glared at Trixie, who had spent the moment looking over the side of the boat at everything else on that side of the cavern, "You wouldn't like me when I'm angry."

There were still many people in the chamber, but the others were all headed towards the way Glub'tok and Helix had gone earlier. They wouldn't interfere, but Trixie doubted she could leave before dealing with Ripsnarl…so she would fight him.

Trixie dashed towards the ice and purposefully slid on it towards her jailor, hurling a quick blast of frost magic at him as she did so. He casually avoided it as Trixie arrived at the main deck, all the while seeming more annoyed than worried about her escape.

"I grow tired of this. Get back in your cell and I will curb your punishment."

In an attempt to appear tough, Trixie did not speak a word as she stared him down. She held a hand out to form another spell in her hand, but by the time she moved the limb she was gasping in pain as thick teeth buried into the flesh of it.

She growled before grabbing Ripsnarl by the head and tossing him back, surprising him with her strength but not revealing the full extent of it with her action. As he steadied himself from her counterattack he licked his lips, "Your blood only increases my hunger!"

As if he was never there, Ripsnarl once again disappeared in a flash, though this time he did not instantly assault Trixie. Scared he might attack her at any moment, Trixie began looking around the deck to catch sight of him, but it was to little avail. She caught a flash of him, but then he was gone again.

While looking across the deck though she caught sight of something that her brain told her to grab: a whip. She rushed over to it as the air around her began to thicken into a light fog, causing the chill going down her back to worsen.

"Do you feel that chill running up your spine?" the seemingly disembodied voice of Ripsnarl taunted, "The fog is rolling in…"

The fog reached the point that it was hard for Trixie to even see her own hands, and she had to admit that even if she wanted to just turn tail and run now she wouldn't really be able to see where she was going.

She turned so her back was to an open cabin of sorts that was next to her former room, and she reasoned that it would narrow down the directions from which he could strike her.

"I can smell your fear!"

While correct, she had not expected him to leap down from the top of the cabin, bite into her shoulder, grab her in the same movement, and then flip around so as to toss her across the deck into the open.

Trixie halted her tumbling across the deck by freezing one hand in place on the deck, which she followed up with another quick magic attack aimed at where she had just been attacked.

When she heard it hit the cabin, she knew she had failed to even harm him. She was bleeding down her shirt at the moment, but not too harshly since Ripsnarl seemed to be sparing her any lethal damage. After all, they needed her in decent enough condition…

A animalistic howl made Trixie's ears perk up, and she tossed another magic attack out at where Ripsnarl ought to be given the noise. Sadly it was too late, and the attack sailed off the deck, not that she could even see that far.

"Come out and stop hiding, Ripsnarl!"

Perhaps taunting him would work. Acknowledging her own faults, Trixie could admit being taunted or humiliated might make her go and do something stupid…like fight an Ursa, or challenge someone to a petty competition based on wounded ego and pride…

While unable to see him, the moment Trixie heard a gust of wind she unleashed one of her more versatile techniques. Since Ripsnarl's speed was so great, him moving to attack her had its own cue with the way the air around them shifted.

"Frie'zudo!"

A circle of ice blasted outward from Trixie's position, the attack not having a true target but instead hitting in every direction around her. This had the effect of catching Ripsnarl straight in the chest and freezing him in place as ice enveloped a good portion of his body.

Able to hear where the attack struck, Trixie spun around and tossed an Ice Lance straight at the frozen wolf. The attack struck home and when it shattered the ice surrounding him it not only knocked him back, but also pierced his skin. She heard his hat fall to the ground as he used his new freedom to disappear into the mists once again.

"That trick won't work twice, little girl!"

Trixie smirked, glad that she had outsmarted him this time around. Now, for her next trick…

Trixie pulled her hand holding the whip up to her face. Yes, she could do something with this…

Ripsnarl slashed at her back and disappeared before Trixie could counterattack, but she had already remembered the permutations she had read in her spellbook about her spells. Ways to use them differently, creatively, that she did not really have cause to use until then given their…limited nature.

Trixie slammed her hands onto the ground as Ripsnarl rushed away, shouting once again.

"Frie'zudo!"

Instead of channeling it out and around her, she cast it in a focused form. It left her palms and rushed across the floor of the deck at the nearest other living creature: Ripsnarl.

Trixie smirked as she heard it tear across the deck and as she heard him run away from its rapid approach, for the ice was not just slick and smooth, it was thick and jagged and looked threatening as it chased after the stealthed Wolf.

"How—that's impossible!"

Trixie lifted the whip and began to spin it around her at increasing speed. A normal mage might not be able to creatively use their magic, or even learn how to expand upon its basic traits, but she was not like them. She prided herself on her masterful usage of magic, even the most basic forms of it, and now that she was using newer spells did not change that very innate part of her.

She was the Great and Powerful Trixie, and she would be damned if she let some bandits make a fool of her.

Judging on where she could hear the ice chasing after Ripsnarl, Trixie lashed out a fair bit ahead of it with her acquired weapon and it struck home. She felt it catch around his upper body and slow him down enough just in time for the ice to catch up to the man. With his legs suddenly frozen in place and a whip around his shoulders and neck, Trixie was in control of the situation all of a sudden.

"You guys might not be evil, but you sure as hell are pissing me off!"

She yanked on the whip with the strength of a horse, and Ripsnarl was torn from his icey trap and pulled straight to her, just in time for Trixie to pull back and then slam forward a fist right at his face. The strength was so great that she heard his jaw dislocate under her power, and his momentum towards her was suddenly shifted in the other direction.

He shouldn't have put on the kids gloves in an attempt to wear her down, for it was only by giving her a moment to think that Trixie came out ahead. The fog died down as he collapsed down on the deck, his own magic being all that was keeping it up, and his concentration was more than shattered given the sudden pain he was in.

For her second spell permutation, she modified her normal "Frostbolt" to a more concentrated form that did not sail across the air, but rather struck from below. Less accurate since it came from the ground, but being impaled by icy spikes from below was certainly more painful than being hit by a large chunk of ice in the air.

"Gikor garu'da!"

The ice erupted beneath where Ripsnarl had fell, and it shred at him in a non-lethal fashion. His arms and legs were cut into but his abdomen and head were spared, leaving him weak and unable to rise to his feet right then as Trixie approached him, whip in hand.

"Where is your leader?" She acted as if she would use the whip on him, but that was too barbaric. Hopefully he would just give up the information, since Trixie was quite interested in finding out why she was being targeted…and in finding out how to leave this place, for she doubted Ripsnarl would be able to give directions in his current state.

"You will not…find her…until it is too late…"

With that, Ripsnarl collapsed with a content look on his face, and Trixie frowned. She would have to find a way out on her own, it seemed…

The sound of yelling and the clash of metal on the deck below her made her eyes widen. What was that? Why was other fighting going on? She leapt back as she heard the sound of people moving up and around the scaffolding that surrounded the nearly-finished ship, prepared to fight whomever was coming.

* * *

It was a simple matter for Kael and Lavitz to carve through the troops sent to confront them, for the Defias had all of its more senior and trained members out preparing for their Stormwind operation while their newer ones were guarding the base, or at least that is what was said to the Elf and his new companion by one defeated Defias member.

After continuing down the corridors and going through another room, the two came across a winding staircase that went all the way around a room. At the bottom were a series of Harvesters, one of which was far larger than the others, and the heat of the room made it seem as if this was the smelting room where the mined ore was taken.

The smaller Harvesters assaulted Kael and Lavitz upon their entry to the room, for when they reached the end of the ramp-staircase they had a trio of machines set upon them in seeming defensive response.

The heat of the room made it easier for Kael to use his waning magic, and so the trio never got to lay a metal finger on either of them, instead resembling the smelted metal of the room more than they did usual Harvesters.

In response to the three others failing to do their task, the largest began to move. It had little in the way of scarecrow-like covering, instead appearing to be more of a normal metal golem mixed with wood, outside of the very top piece of what the other Harvesters wore on their chest, a burlap or some similar material covering over the shoulders and upper abdomen that resembled an oversized handkerchief.

"Foe-Reaper 5000…online. All systems: nominal."

Kael and Lavitz looked at one another before shrugging, seeing the big robot as little more of a threat than the others. They were made of the same stuff, after all, so why would it be any more difficult to take down with fire?

Its basic face with only one big eye and a smaller one swirled around briefly, "Acquiring target."

It stopped when it faced Kael.

"Target acquired."

Realizing that this meant that it wanted to kill him first, Kael began to backpedal while trying to summon forth more magic. Unfortunately he had not had enough time to recover after dealing with the last three, and so he was not capable of using it just yet.

The attention off of him for once, Lavitz tried getting in the way of the machine and began hacking away with his spear at its body. It ignored him even as he continued to stand in its path, and when it was apparent that it would not reconsider its decision to murder Kael, Lavitz began to back up just like Kael all the while tirelessly throwing strike after basic strike into its core. He would do more complicated techniques, but he was too out of practice and too weak to use his more powerful ones, leaving him with only the most basic of striking techniques.

Kael had unknowingly been backing up the ramp, but by the time he was a third of the way he felt strong enough to let out an attack. He murmured the words as he also cursed at the slow yet menacing behemoth of a machine, and suddenly it had a hole burned through one of its sides.

"Overdrive engine: activated."

That did not sound good. And by not good, Kael considered it suddenly bashed Lavitz off the side of the ramp and increasing its speed at rushing at Kael to be very not good. Quite bad, in fact.

So, when it took a swing at him with its massive metal claw of a hand, Kael decided to follow after his new partner and go off the side of the ramp rather than be struck by it. The landing was a little rough, but he managed to at least not land on top of his recovering ally.

The machine did not appear programmed to move off a ledge such as that, and so it turned around and started to move down the ramp at its more rapid pace. Realizing they would only have moments once again before it reached them, Kael forced another fireball out even though doing so put him past his limit. It physically hurt him to cast it, but he gritted his teeth and fought through it so he could strike the machine before it could kill either of them with its menacing claws.

They had been wrong. It was faster, tougher, and its claws seemed more fearsome. Kael most certainly did not want it getting near him, so he was glad that his second magic attack deepened the damaged done to its one side.

"Safety restrictions: offline. Catastrophic system failure: imminent," its monotone voice announced, though this was followed up by it moving even faster and erratically towards them. It reached the end of the ramp and began rushing straight at them.

Seeing a door leading further down into the cave, Kael helped Lavitz to his feet and began running to it. Sure, there were guards by the dozens now entering there, but the giant robot was more scary…and likely running on fumes, if what it was saying was true.

It gave chase to them across the room and to the exit…but it did not reach the open door. It instead collapsed to its knees and fell down, its speed coming to a halt as its various parts became frigid.

"Overheat threshold: exceeded. System failure: wheat clog in port 2. Shutting down…"

This was one step away from clawing straight through either of them, so it was just in the nick of time.

About thirty rendered unconscious Defias cronies later, Kael and Lavitz came face to face with another door, though this one was sealed. A cannon that was under construction lay near it though, so with a shrug the two used the cannon to blow down the door. This had the effect of using the door as a projectile against a few Defias behind the door, and they shared a laugh at the fortunate happenstance. Those were people that might've fought them after all, and now they were beneath a thick door and trapped.

On the way through Kael bent down to pat one on the back of the head as she struggled to get free of the reinforced door.

"Excuse me."

He shoved her face down into the sand beneath her, which was Kael's first sign that this was a different environment. He looked up and found that for the first time he was not going further into the rabbit-hole, but rather at the main chamber itself! A beach led to some walkways which led to a giant ship with cannons and a very suspicious fog cloud hanging over it…

A loud howl like a wolf made Kael raise his eyebrows. Did they have dogs here? He would hate fighting dogs. They would get all up in his face and probably aim for the neck, and he needed that.

"What was that?"

Lavitz, more experienced with the Defias, recognized the sound though. He began a mad dash towards the docks and Kael found himself actually having difficulty keeping up with the normally below average speed man for once.

"That was Ripsnarl!" Lavitz swung his spear to knock a pair of Defias members into the waters below the dock, "If he is howling like that, he must be fighting! Come on!"

This was the end of the road concerning the Defias hideout, so Trixie ought to be down here if they still had her…and given that Ripsnarl had to be fighting SOMEone, Trixie just might be trying to escape on her own.

This had the effect of making him gain the same speed boost his partner had gained at the sight of a possible partner in distress. The poor new Defias members on the docks were very confused as a pair of people barreled straight through them with a flurry of sword and spear strikes smashing them every which way.

"Move it!"

"Coming through!"

Some of the ones on the higher decks had the bright idea to aim cannons at the two, but that stopped when a skillfully thrown spear impaled one of them and caused the cannon to tilt and blast the nearby deck, blowing half of it away and causing a good deal of the crew to fall.

A group of parrots swooped down and joined the fray, attacking Kael, who had to use the handle of his sword to begin knocking them out of the air. They were just animals after all…and almost as annoying as dogs hypothetically would be.

Lavitz used the time Kael was busy with the birds to sweep away their remaining foes, though his energy was beginning to crash.

He stabbed one in the gut who had been about to slash at him with a sword, fortunately avoiding this due to his spear's length trumping that of the sword, "I don't have the strength to use my stronger techniques…" he pulled the spear out and repeated the movement he had done against the Hobgoblin, though he made sure to smash the man over the side of the scaffolding ramp they were going up rather than disembowel him completely, "So this will have to do! Harpoon!"

It was short work for the two of them to dispatch the others in their way, for while the Defias had numbers on their side both Kael and Lavitz were far more experienced and were able to defeat their foes with coordinated ease by using a staggered fighting formation where one moved forward and then the next, sweeping all challengers out of their path.

Fighting was coming naturally to Kael, and he had little doubt he was formerly quite skilled at using a blade, while the trained soldier beside him was quite the ideal companion to have when fighting in the thick of a melee like this. The man must have been on an entirely different level before he had been captured and brought down to his current starved status.

When the fighting ended and the two nearly reached the top of the ship, which now was beginning to clear of fog, Lavitz motioned for Kael to continue upwards.

"I will keep reinforcements from coming. Find your friend, and hurry back!"

Leaving him behind made Kael gain some pause. Sure, Lavitz could handle some normal fighters on his own, but he might get overwhelmed if enough reinforcements came. Similarly, Kael worried what might happen to him without someone watching his own back, "Can you handle them?"

"I am a knight of Stormwind, of course I can handle a few rowdy bandits."

With him seeming determined to hold the line, Kael let Lavitz stay there as Kael finished going up the platform's long and winding ramp to get on top of the ship.

His very first sight was Trixie standing in a poised position on the middle of the deck, and her face became one of complete awe as they met eyes.

"Kael!"

The two ran to eachother and embraced firmly. A part of each of them had worried about not being reunited with their only real friend and companion, and now they were together once again. Trixie had freed herself while Kael had fought through Hel to get to this point, and now they could see about leaving this place together. The Stormwind vs. Defias conflict be damned, all either cared about was leaving this forsaken area and continuing on their previous path.

Still, despite the exhilaration each felt at the sight of the other, they pulled back from one another after a moment. It was embarrassing and mushy to just hug in the middle of a place like this, so they cut it short.

"Um," Trixie nervously poked at the ground with a foot, "It's good to see you."

Kael looked over her body for any signs of harm, some obvious areas coming to mind as he saw her bloodied arm and shoulder, "How hurt are you?"

Trixie looked away and shrugged, not willing to look and see all the blood that was blending in with Kael's red armor. How much pain had he been through to come and save her?

Kael dug deep into the bag he brought and pulled out a healing potion he had saved specifically for Trixie and only for her should she need it. Trixie took it and drank half of it, and as she did so her wounds seemed to melt away. The blood remained where it was, but no more flowed forth and it seemed as if she had never actually been harmed.

"Thanks," she handed it back to him so that he could drink the rest. He deserved it after all. Kael smiled at her as he obliged her silent request, revitalizing himself so that he might have the strength to finish this dungeon crawl.

"Hurry up! I can hear more guards coming!"

Trixie tried looking past Kael but couldn't see where Lavitz had called from due to him being on a lower level.

"Who is that?"

Kael smiled, thinking that the Human might readily befriend Trixie given the man's friendly disposition. Trixie needed more friends, not that he was one to speak, "A friend I met on the way," he took Trixie's arm in one hand and turned back towards where he had come from, "Now, we need to get going—"

"Mrglemrglemrgle!"

Kael turned his head to the side and noticed that a blue creature of sorts was running at him from a nearby cabin. In its hand was a rolling pin and in the other was a meat cleaver, but given that the creature wasn't even up to his waist he kicked the meat cleaver out of its hands.

"What is this thing?"

Trixie knelt down and tried to stop Cookie, but Cookie seemed determined to keep whacking its rolling pin into Kael's leg near harmlessly.

"Cookie? No more bread, please—"

Cookie looked up at her, seemed to think for a moment, and then turned his attention off of Kael's leg and instead began whacking away at Trixie with the bludgeoning weapon.

"Rgg! Mrg!"

Kael rolled his eyes at the display and brought his booted foot back. When he swung it forward it sent the creature flying given its small size. Kael'thas tip number 1: don't fight something that can punt you if you don't want to be punted.

"Who names a fish-frog Cookie?" Kael snorted, not taking the situation seriously since he did not know who it belonged to.

The Murloc bounced off the side of the cabin he had come out of, wounded by the kick but not knocked out yet. It started to get up when Kael approached it and stomped his foot down softly on it, hard enough to pin it but not hard enough to really hurt it. He just didn't want this…thing hitting him with that damned rolling pin anymore.

"Get away from him!"

Kael recognized the voice just in time to catch a roundhouse kick to the face. He fell flat on his arse as Vanessa appeared in front of him and knelt down to the Murloc, a healing potion in hand as she held it up to its lips.

"Cookie, drink up."

Kael rubbed his jaw as he thought about what just happened. How fast was Vanessa that she could just do that? He had no idea that she was even anywhere nearby, and she suddenly appeared and smashed him hard enough in the face that he was glad to still have his teeth.

Once Cookie was nursed back to health Vanessa helped him to his feet and pointed him in the direction that Kael had come from, "Go get the others."

Nearby Trixie was getting back up to her feet because as Vanessa rushed to the aid of her pet she had swept Trixie's legs from underneath her faster than Trixie could even react. She was on the ground by the time she knew something was hitting her.

When Trixie got up she saw her partner trying to do the same, only for Vanessa to pull out an orange and yellow dagger coated with something at the very tip. Kael tried to back away but the young girl grabbed him by the long hair and drove it into his gut before he could get any real distance from her.

"Kael!"

Vanessa tossed Kael over onto the deck of the ship while sending Trixie a death glare.

"You better stay out of this! I may need you alive, but I know how to make healing potions as well as I can make poison! Don't tempt me!"

Trixie ignored the warning and tried to protect Kael by whipping at Vanessa, but the girl caught it in mid air and yanked Trixie off of her feet using it.

"You aren't that dexterous for an Elf, but I don't supposed you need to be with the strength you have," Vanessa yanked the whip from Trixie's stunned grasp and threw it to the side, "I won't be like my father. I won't let an Elf take me down in my moment of triumph!"

Beside her, Kael's vision was beginning to blur. Whatever she had injected him with, it wasn't killing him, but his eyes were out of whack now. His head felt fuzzy and he was worried about what would happen now, since Vanessa had complete power over them. Would she kill him and keep Trixie? What was she even planning to do with her?

Vanessa knelt down and grabbed Kael by the face, lifting it up enough so that they could look eye to eye even as his vision faded, "I've been waiting a long time for this you know."

Trixie sprang to her feet and prepared to remove Vanessa from Kael with force, but in a flash the orange and yellow massive blade was held to Kael's throat. Trixie froze as she realized the non-verbal threat: move, and he dies.

"Biding my time, building my forces, studying the minds of my enemies…"

Kael's vision completely faded from reality and was instead replaced with a dark void, though it was not as if his eyes were closed. He just was seeing something else. And what he was seeing had a pitch-black backdrop.

Seeing that he was enthralled with her poison, Vanessa dropped Kael onto the deck and stood up straight as he fell victim to it, "I was never very good at hand to hand combat, you know? Not like my father…"

Trixie moving to once again attack Vanessa was stopped by Vanessa appearing behind her and smashing her in the back of the neck with enough force to cause Trixie to drop to her knees.

"But I always excelled at poisons. I learned as I traveled Azeroth in an attempt to find that Elven bastard who killed my father…So I learned ways of getting what I want, particularly venoms that effect the mind."

It was then that Kael's ears and what he was seeing began to make sense. Before him now stood the figure of Glub'tok, who was slowly becoming surrounded by flames.

"Poor Glub'tuk. When his powers manifested, his own Ogre mound was the first to burn."

Vanessa's voice was equal parts sympathetic to her comrade as well as mocking, like one might tease a member of their family. Listening to her voice made Kael realize that he was seeing something from the past, just like the incense had.

The area around Glub'tok became increasingly enraptured with flames, and the poor Ogre could only watch in horror as he burned everything around him.

"Deep within his soul, the one thing he feared most of all…Was himself."

On the deck of the ship Trixie took a swing at Vanessa, and while Vanessa blocked it she was not expecting to actually be pushed back by its sheer strength. The surprise pain irritated the teenager, who quickly paid Trixie back by spinning around her and landing a powerful kick into Trixie's gut.

"I told you to stay out of this!"

Kael's vision of the fires and of Glub'tok began to fade until they were replaced with nothing…though this only lasted long enough for a vision of the small green guy he fought earlier was shown cowering in the darkness. Once again free to do so, Vanessa narrated.

"Most Rogues prefer to cloak themselves in the shadows…but not Helix."

Out of the darkness crept the similarly dark figures of what Kael had to admit were the most foul spiders he had ever seen. They unnerved him, but he could not move in his stupor. Why was Vanessa showing him this?

"You never know what skitters in the darkness!"

Trixie cast a sheet of ice down where Vanessa was standing, but the girl flipped over it and slammed down on Trixie's back. The strike flatted Trixie to the floor of the deck, and with a stomp on her Vanessa revealed just how annoyed she was getting at Trixie interrupting her.

"Stop getting in my way!"

As the spiders overran Helix and covered the vision in darkness the scene once again changed, this time showing instead the giant machine Kael had decommissioned earlier.

"Can you imagine the life of a machine?"

The machine was replaced with a small flickering light, which was miniscule compared to the void around it.

"A simple spark can mean the difference between life," Vanessa gave a sad laugh, "And death."

The flickering of the light began to ebb, only to suddenly vanish altogether.

Vanessa was showing him the fears and trauma of her lieutenants…of how they were people too, even if they were not on the same side. That was the message Kael was getting, but what did she hope to do? Win his sympathy? His allegiance? She could just end things right here and now and be done with it, but she seemed to be sparing him all the while showing him things that would garner sympathy.

With the light gone it was instead replaced by a normal looking Human man that Kael did not recognize, but the ongoing narration filled him in soon enough on who it was meant to be.

"Ripsnarl wasn't always a bloodthirsty savage," nearby him a group of Humans appeared, and Vanessa's voice quieted somewhat as she continued, "Once, he even had a family."

The man disappeared and was replaced by the beastly being now known as Ripsnarl, and Kael cringed as he thought about what was going to happen.

"He was called James Harrington. A tragedy in many parts…"

Kael shut his eyes as the wolf-being attacked the Human family, but even when his eyes shut the vision did not go away. He had to watch the horror of seeing the man lose his mind, kill his family, and then the vision ended as Ripsnarl came to realize what had happened…and what he had done.

With the end of this Kael's normal vision began to return to him, and Vanessa smirked as she noticed him begin to slowly rise to his feet.

"So you return to the land of consciousness…" Vanessa levied her blade at him, "So, with what you have seen, can you see now that we're not just some criminals? We're like everyone else. We have our fears, we have our weaknesses. We are people like any other, and you are ruining our lives by coming here and destroying everything we have worked for! Leave now, and I will spare your life, but continue to defy us by depriving us of our one chance for a better life, and I'll cut you down!"

Kael rose to his feet and drew his blade. Yes, he had sympathy for them, but no, he was not going to put his life ahead of saving someone he cared about. How could he live with himself if he just ran away after all they had been through?

"I do not know why you need her, but I am leaving with Trixie if it's the last thing I do."

Vanessa shook her head in a mixture of aggravation and disgust, "Fine then. I will not share my father's fate! Your life ends here!"

Slowed by the lingering effects of the poison, Kael was unable to parry Vanessa even as she rushed him headfirst and pulled out a second blade with which to stab him. Instead he was spared by Trixie lunging for her whip and bringing it down on one of Vanessa's arms, giving the girl pause as she very nearly slit Kael's throat.

"Vanessa, please, stop! Is this really what your father would want? Is this the life he would want for you? Why are you doing this!?"

The moment of anger lost by the sudden pause, Vanessa punched Kael and knocked him back as she tugged her arm free of the whip.

"I have waited my whole life for this moment!" she chuckled as she looked down on Kael as he fought to stand up again, "To be honest, I owe you all a debt of gratitude. As a result of your arrival here days ago, we've finally been given a chance to take out revenge. The supplies and manpower we were granted for our uprising is more than anything we could have hoped for, all for capturing one Elf!"

Once ready to stand again Kael brandished his blade at Vanessa, but it didn't seem to worry her at all. She simply stared at him as he held the blade threateningly, her eyes carrying all of her emotion since her mouth was shrouded by her red mask.

"You're a bit too late. If you stop me now then all of this will have truly been for nothing. So hurry up and leave already! Am I to believe you would really do all of this for one woman? No-one is that self-less!"

Trixie had the opportunity to shoot Vanessa in the back, but if the insanely fast girl managed to sidestep it Kael would be the one hurt. Furthermore, Trixie wasn't even sure if she could bring herself to hurt the girl. She was a child, and sure she was powerful, but she could hear the pain in her voice. The pain of having lost everything, and everyone…and that was something Trixie felt she could relate to. How could she cast judgment on someone who wanted revenge for great injustices when she herself once took revenge on someone who had done wrong to her?

_Twilight…_

In any case, Trixie did not want Vanessa to harm Kael, but she had little but her voice to use given the circumstances, "Stop this, now! If you keep fighting like this, if you seek to drag others down to satisfy your own loss, you'll lose yourself in that pain! I know what you went through must have been painful on a level few know, but you're too young to lose your heart to revenge like this!"

Kael used the moment Vanessa's eyes widened to lunge forth: if he could force her into submission, perhaps they could finally end this. Lavitz was busy fighting off a small army from the sounds of metal clashing on the ramp, so unless they defeated Vanessa there was no hope.

Vanessa used both her daggers to parry Kael, and with enough force she diverted his blade to the side and then slipped a shiv into his already wounded gut. Fortunately his armor was taking the brunt of his damage still, but it did not have infinite durability.

Kael's next swing upward hit nothing but air as Vanessa jumped out of the way and jabbed a finger in Trixie's direction.

"Shut up! My father was hunted down and murdered by one of your own damn people, just for a satchel of gold! He wasn't given the chance to surrender, he was slaughtered like an animal right in front of me! You Elves are no better than we Humans, especially not that black and blue eyed monster!" she shouted at Trixie with such furor that Kael had no doubt he'd be dead if he inspired that same level of anger in the girl. Trixie needed to live though, so it seemed Vanessa was purposefully keeping herself from throttling her.

Vanessa once again sidestepped Kael and slipped a dagger into a chink in his armor as she rushed past him at a speed even beyond that of the mercenary from the other day.

"I've devoted my life to what my father started, that's why I'm here!"

She followed this attack by twirling around and sweeping down at his knee, cutting into the weaker armor of his legs before combo-ing this with an elbow into his gut. Her speed allowed her to chain her attacks so adeptly, but the longer she stayed by him the more of a chance Kael had to grab her.

And he did just that. Kael used her elbowing him to buckle down and clamp her arm against his body by bringing in his arms. She growled in pain as he tried to keep his grip on her, while Trixie went about using her whip on Vanessa's legs.

Kael tried to calm Vanessa down somewhat by explaining himself, "I do not seek your head. The Alliance betrayed your people as it has my own. I will not seek justice on their behalf! Please, Hope…Vanessa! We don't have to be enemies…"

With strength far and beyond what one could expect of a teenager, Vanessa hurled Kael over her shoulder and through the air at Trixie. He slammed into his partner and Vanessa free herself of Trixie's weapon at the same time, "It's all the same! You've come here and ruined everything we've been working for! We can't afford to lose her, and I can tell you meant it when you said you won't leave her, so there's nothing to reconcile!" the effort of tossing a full grown man actually winded her, so Vanessa paused a moment to breathe heavily, "It was my father's will that Stormwind be brought to heel for its actions, and it is my duty to carry out that dream!"

As Trixie removed herself from underneath Kael she looked at the emotional girl they were fighting, "It's not a dream, it's a curse!" Trixie balled her fists as she looked at the girl, who she could tell was in extreme emotional turmoil, "You're not bad, you're just misguided! What do you think will happen when you hurt all those people you want revenge on? Their families will grow up hating your people as well!"

Kael got up and prepared to fight again, though he was quickly placed on the defensive as a flurry of blows came at him from Vanessa. For every one he could block two or three more got past his sword and embedded in his body, and he was quite sure that he would have died many strokes ago if he didn't have gallons of those healing potions in him still.

"This is my fight and my war! Nothing you say will bring my father back, nothing you say will change what they've done to us!" Vanessa uppercutted Kael and knocked him into a wall on the ship, "We've taken a long treacherous road to get here! I'll kill anyone in my way! This war will never end, it will never be over so long as I breathe!"

"Nothing will change her mind…" Kael spat out blood as he came to the realization that they were not dealing with a rational mind. They were dealing with someone who had been so warped by tragedy that there was no saving them, not now, "Trixie, we have to…"

Trixie shook her head and scowled, refusing to accept Kael's view, "No! I've had more second chances than anyone ought to have, I've lost everything before," memories rushed past Trixie as she spoke, and she could feel a sudden sense of pain and loss now that she spoke of the matter, "This is my chance to do things right for once. I am not giving up on her, I'll stop her!"

Living on the street, eating from the garbage, losing her reputation, losing her home, losing anyone who would associate with her, losing her fans…

Trixie teared up further as she remembered one last thing. Losing her mother, and being unable to do anything about it. The horror and tragedy of losing a loved one without being able to do anything about it…

She knew that pain, and she would be damned if she did not try and save another from it. She was here for a reason, she told herself, and she still had a chance to make things right this time around.

Trixie knew it was futile to even try and stop Vanessa physically, but she still cast her magic again and again in a rapid barrage of giant ice shards. Vanessa avoided them all of course, but even she was beginning to grow tired. She only had so much energy after all, and some barely nicked her as they flew by and crashed into the ship. One even caused an explosion for some reason Trixie could not fathom, but her attention was soon distracted by Vanessa gun punching her and slamming her elbow down on Trixie's neck as Trixie bent over from the first blow.

"Vanessa, please…"

Kael angrily swung his blade at Vanessa in retaliation for her striking Trixie, but a thrown dagger caught him straight in the chest. He coughed up more blood as he fell to his knees and tried to remove the oversized dagger from himself.

Vanessa made the mistake of looking down at Trixie and having their eyes meet. The moment they met made her pause, and it gave Trixie time to murmur, "Is this what you want? Is this what the true you really wants?"

That question pierced Vanessa and caused her to pause completely. Her eyes widened as she thought about what it meant, for she had always lived for her father's goal and his dream…not her own.

"But…this is all I have…so…"

She lowered her head into her open hand and began to twitch as the traumatized girl began to think about her life. She had given up any chance of living a normal life, she had even killed her foster family. What else did she even have but the wishes of her father?

"Without this, I have nothing to live for…Nothing!"

She was nearly crying, and understandably so. Her age was showing, for she couldn't bear all the stress heaped upon her shoulders. Everything was crumbling down around her and she didn't know what to do anymore when before it all seemed so certain.

Trixie rose and placed a gentle hand on Vanessa's shoulder. She was doing this the way Twilight would. She was giving someone another chance…

"Then we can find something. I know all too well that it's too sad to only live for hatred and anger. You can't live with holding every grudge there is."

She still had to sort out all the thoughts that had flooded to her mind, but for now it was enough. She had regained a part of who she was, and she couldn't bear to witness this kind of pain in someone else, especially someone so young.

Vanessa tried shoving Trixie's hand off, only to fail because of Trixie's enhanced strength, "It's only human to be angered by injustice! People aren't perfect!"

"Even so…"

Kael, having finally fought through his pain, gaped as he watched Trixie pull Vanessa into a hug. The girl seemed shocked by this as well and merely stared forward, not saying anything as someone treated her with kindness only ever shown to her by a few others in her entire life.

"Trixie, have you lost your mind!?"

Ignoring Kael, Vanessa lowered her face into Trixie's body and began to sob. She returned the hug, seeking comfort that she had craved for some time yet fought the urge for because she couldn't forgive herself.

"Father…I…I don't know anymore…"

The moment between them lasted quite some time before it was interrupted, and when it was it was not by Kael.

"Vanessa…"

Ripsnarl, Glub'tok, Helix, and even Foe-Reaper 5000 had arrived at the ship. Kael was baffled by how they had gotten past Lavitz, but the sound of battle still raging on the dock scaffolding at least reassured him that it wasn't because they killed him.

The group moved forward towards Trixie and Vanessa as the two of them looked on with some confusion, Vanessa's eyes even still tearing up. Kael moved to intercept the group of severely wounded Lieutenants, but Ripsnarl held up a hand.

"We haven't come to fight," he bowed his head weakly, "Please…"

This fight was over, Kael got the feeling, and so he wordlessly let them pass. If they could take care of their hurting leader then that would likely be for the best. Stormwind would likely come and clean them out in the near future, and Kael honestly wished them the best of luck. He did not wish them any ill-will given all their misfortunes, himself included on the list of them.

Trixie let them all surround Vanessa and take over the comforting of her as she fell to her knees and hands to sob. Helix was the first to reach Vanessa and placed a consoling hand on her back, "Hey boss, we're sorry…this is all our fault…"

The robot activated a heating protocol and began to warm Vanessa up, hoping it would help her emotionally, while Glub'tok tried to figure out something between his two heads to say.

Ripsnarl instead stood by Kael and sighed, his head still hanging down, "Without her, we all would have been lost years ago. She helped us through our tough times, and she never abandoned us. We owe her everything, so please, let us leave in peace."

Once again Kael agreed, and he nodded understandingly to Ripsnarl. The former Human approached the young girl, with whom he had found a new family after killing his own in a savage rage, and he tried helping her to her feet, "Vanessa, please, we must go. There are—"

"There they are!"

The sound came from one of the lower scaffoldings and ramps, and it was followed by the sound of a cannon firing. An eruption on the deck appeared in the space between Kael and Vanessa, with the others all being on the far side of her.

When the smoke cleared both Kael and Trixie looked to see the damage: Vanessa's legs were both wounded, but everyone else appeared fine. They turned back to see a crowd of four and then five arriving on deck, their larger members having hauled the cannon up with them.

"Vanessa!" the Defias group cried out as they noticed her nearly broken legs. She fought to not yell in pain, only barely succeeding due to years of practice.

"I…" Vanessa started to speak, only to fail as she once again collapsed onto her knees.

At the head of the group of five was the Elven Hunter that had been tracking Kael and Trixie. She stared menacingly at both of them before looking over at the Defias members with smug satisfaction. Beside her was the mercenary Kael had come to meet before, and the man gave Kael a look of "I'm sorry" as he stood by the Hunter. He hadn't been able to find an appraiser yet it seemed.

Also with them was a balding older Human with a greying goatee, dressed in the armor of a Warrior, a woman in cloth that resembled that of a Priestess, and another seeming Hunter.

The Elf of the group nodded towards the Defias and then knocked an arrow in preparation, "I am sure the humans won't mind if we take her head as a trophy, just like her father before her. Kill her, and capture the Elves!"

Arrows flung and the cannon rang again as both Kael and Trixie watched in horror…

"F-foe Reaper?"

Vanessa was looking up at her favorite machine as it stood with its back towards the cannon that shot at them. The machine had taken the powerful shot at such a close range and various arrows were hanging out of it. Already damaged severely by Kael's magic, it collapsed before her while speaking one last time.

"Primary objective: Protect Leader…com…pleeete…"

The Elven Hunter leveled the cannon at the group with a smug look on her face still. The cannons were built to have multiple shots in them, and she was grateful for the innovation shown by the former engineers that became the Defias.

"Who is next? I don't care how many of you thugs die. I am going to get my reward."

Kael and Trixie exchanged glances, neither knowing of a way to escape. They could try to run off the opposite edge of the boat, but in their condition they would not get far, and the Hunter group had already proven capable of finding them…but they also couldn't stand and fight, for not one of the people who would fight was at full strength.

They did not come to a decision of what to do by the time Glub'tok rushed forward at the cannon and started forming an ice attack in one wounded hand, "You're gonna die!"

He only crossed half of the deck by the time the cannon let out another bang, and a hole was blown through the flesh of the Ogre. It did not die in complete vain though, for as it fell Helix revealed himself as having been on his back. He jumped off and prepared a bomb as he closed the distance to the cannon.

"Try this!"

A set of arrows pierced him in midair while he threw the bomb down into the cannon, which was promptly abandoned by the Hunter's crew as it violently exploded. As it did so Helix hit the ground, dying as he tried to look back at his leader.

"Sorry…boss…we couldn't…help you when you…"

The one to have shot him was the Elven Hunter, who had drawn her bow again and shot him at a stunning pace. Her bow was glowing with magic which likely had something to do with it, but still the display was chillingly intimidating.

"I am on a different level entirely from you all. I could have done this alone, but I was smart enough to bring a group just to be sure. Care to just die and get this over with?"

Still rendered immobile, Vanessa began shaking from her position on the ground. The terror and pain she was feeling had stricken her, "Years of turmoil…years of work…"

Kael nearly jumped as he felt a hand place itself on his shoulder. He turned to see Ripsnarl standing beside him.

"Go now. There is an exit to the cavern on the far wall. I will provide you the time you require to escape. Please, protect Vanessa for us."

Hearing him speak those words snapped Vanessa out of her shock and actually gave her the adrenaline she needed to start rising to her feet.

"Ripsnarl, no!"

Kael hated himself for accepting the sacrifice, but what else could he do? He nodded and turned, purposefully moving so that the arrows next flung at Vanessa struck him in the back instead. He tried grabbing the girl along with Trixie, but she fought their grip as she tried to get to Ripsnarl.

The wolf-man had charged straight at the enemies and had drawn all of their fire, only falling after being struck by countless arrows and projectiles including a thrown sword.

As Kael and Trixie reached the edge of the boat, Vanessa finally got herself free of them and drew her weapons again. Tears were steaming down her face as Ripsnarl lay dying.

"Vanessa…listen to me…don't end up like the rest of us…" with one last cough, the noble savage man collapsed for the final time, "Edwin, I'm sorry I failed you…"

The pain in her legs nearly forgotten, Vanessa prepared to do something unknown to the others in order to exact blind vengeance, "You killed him…you Stormwind bastards killed him…they've taken everything from me again…he was the last of my family!"

"Vanessa!" Trixie called, but she was ignored as Vanessa struck a match and tossed it to the side.

"There's nothing left for me now…"

The Elven Hunter lifted their bow and prepared to finish off the wounded leader of the Defias Brotherhood, but the shot never connected: Vanessa swatted it out of the air and growled furiously.

''ENOUGH! I will not give you the pleasure! If I'm going to die, I'm taking you all with me. MY FATE IS MY OWN!"

The reason for an earlier explosion was revealed as the ship rocked with a series of massive explosions all around it. The chain reaction unsteadied all those aboard except Vanessa, who had been braced for it. The ropes holding the ships mast burst and began to swing back and forth as the ship turned ablaze.

Trixie noticed that the swinging ropes were actually about to go in the direction that they needed to flee, which she conveyed to Kael with a hand gesture. By the time they noticed this the others had all gained their bearings again, and they prepared to jump ship when Vanessa let out an insane laugh.

"You didn't honestly think I'd only plant one set of explosives, did you?!"

She tossed another match to the other side of the boat and the entire ship rocked from the resulting explosion.

Kael looked back to the swaying ropes and noticed that they likely would only have one more chance to grab one before both he and Trixie were ravaged by the fire. He grabbed Trixie fiercely and pulled her close while moving to grab one of them as it came to swing back.

"We have to go!"

Trixie tried to reach out to the nearby, but not in arm's reach, Vanessa, "But—"

Kael yanked her as the rope arrived, not willing to die for someone who had chosen to die, "Now Trixie!"

He gripped the rope and they each went sailing through the air as the long line carried them over the water in the cave. Across from them was a beach of sorts that led to a tunnel, the exit mentioned by Ripsnarl.

As they swung in the air Kael turned back to see what was happening on the ship, only to recognize someone jump up onto it, spear in hand. The spear skewered the spare Hunter as they tried to escape the ship, while the others had all been knocked off by explosions.

"Lavitz!"

The soldier had looked around to find Kael and his partner, risking his life to save his new comrade, and when Kael yelled out he looked up to see him. Seeing also the kneeling form of Vanessa, Lavitz ran forward and grabbed her in an almost tackling fashion as he too grabbed onto one of the rapidly swaying ropes.

Kael and Trixie let go of their rope before it began to reverse momentum, and each of them slammed down into the sand of the beach. When they looked back up they saw Lavitz sailing through the air with Vanessa in one arm, and for a moment they had a glimmer of hope.

That glimmer was ruined by another explosion rocking the ship, and a foot long shard of its wood impaling itself in Lavitz's lower leg. The sudden pain caused him to lose grip of the unconscious girl, and Vanessa fell down into the deep waters below as Lavitz then swung a little further and crashed into the sand heavily.

"Ugh—damnit!"

Kael tried to get up to help out his new friend, but the last of the poison got to him and he passed out from it in addition to all the pain he had been in. Trixie looked down to him and noticed his condition, before rushing to the side of their third party member who was still conscious.

"Your leg…"

Lavitz forced himself upright and stumbled over to where Kael was. Despite having the wood still in his leg he managed to grab Kael and haul him on top of one shoulder.

"I'll…be fine. Let's…go."

Trixie nodded, though she did remove the shard from his leg before they each began to hobble towards the exit. The end of the tunnel seemed light, like an exit to the outdoors, and it served as an inspiration for them both to keep moving just that one foot further.

While Lavitz was struggling with the physical side of things, Trixie was struggling with how she was too weak to save the others. They weren't bad people…they just were…

Trixie shook her head as they limped onward, "Hope…" she sobbed at the thought of Vanessa's fate, "Even now, I'm nothing but a failure…I failed you, just like I've failed at everything else in my life…"

Lavitz moved a shoulder to bring attention to Kael, "He'll be fine…" he turned to look at Trixie with concern, "Will you be?"

"Yeah…I just…want to rest a bit, when we can."

She had a lot of memories, new and old, as well as emotions to sort through.

They had survived the Deadmines. Unfortunately the same could not be said for many of its inhabitants.

* * *

"Mrg! Mrglmrgl! Mrrrrrrrrrrrg!"

"M…mrg?"

"Mrglmrglmrgl!"

"C…cookie…"

* * *

**_A/N: Whew that was a big one! Ton of boss fights after all! Not going to devote this much time to each one for every dungeon in the future, probably just the major couple ones, but boy was this interesting to write...if you can catch all the huge references you win!_**

**_Party size has increased to 3. Next, we go to Stormwind! But first, the group takes a break, because boy do they need it!_**

**_Please let me know what you think in the comments below, as not only does it help me write, there is certainly a lot to discuss and talk about!_**


	19. Rest Experience 4: Food and Thought

_**A/N: Special thanks to futureshock and kinghoborg for your reviews last chapter! As thanks, here's an update, and I hope to hear from you all again!**_

_**I hope you all enjoy, and please leave your thoughts in the comments below!**_

* * *

The cave tunnel let out after what felt like a long trek that led downwards, even including a few ledges. Trixie considered how things might go if she offered her equine form to help carry Kael and Lavitz, but while she trusted their new ally on some levels, she didn't know him well enough to reveal her alternate form just yet. What would he think if she just sneezed and became a horse? Would he be put off?

If Kael was seemingly worse off than merely unconscious, Trixie would put his well being first, but he seemed oddly at peace and his wounds had stopped bleeding.

Upon exiting the cave the two took a moment to breathe and check that no-one was following them. Trixie took a moment to sigh in relief when no immediate threat, though it was quickly interrupted by a man in green-ish chainmail stepping out from the shadows cast beside the cave's end.

This was one of the mercenaries with the Hunter…but he was smiling at them, and made no move to intercept them. Trixie thought back to a few moments ago and realized that after he first appeared he had disappeared from the ensuing chaos. Apparently he had thought ahead and come here.

"Mrglmrglmrgl!"

Before Trixie or Lavitz could question the mercenary's motivations or what he would do, the war cry of a small army of Murlocs roared forth and was met by many more such noises. The cave had let out by the beach, and from the shore came the Murloc army.

The mercenary nodded in a direction before turning his back on the others, his direction quickly captured by the Murlocs headed his way. Taking it as a sign that he was not going to fight them but instead deal with the animals about to attack them, Trixie helped Lavitz along as they carried the unconscious Kael together.

The sound of Murlocs being butchered rang out into the sky as Trixie and Lavitz finally found their way to the familiar Moonbrook, which had since become a ghost town. No-one was there, and the Alliance outpost was abandoned, a vast difference compared to how things had been before. Had the people milled out under the guidance of the now defeated Defias?

Trixie noticed that despite his best efforts Lavitz was struggling to keep walking, and so she decided to address the issue. Here was yet another example of a Human that was nothing like the ones she heard about from other Elves. He had helped Kael try and save her, he had taken a risk in trying to save Vanessa even if he failed, and he ignored numerous injuries to not slow them down and carry Kael.

"Lavitz, can you keep going?"

He nodded, though his eyes were nearly closed from the pain he was enduring.

"Yeah!"

While impressed at his fortitude, enough was enough. He was half-starved and heavily wounded. With Kael not able to walk on his own just yet and Lavitz the way he was, it would be idiotic to keep moving when perhaps rest would solve their issues.

"No, we'll stay here for the time being. You should really keep off that leg," Trixie paused as she led the other two over to an open house, "You really are a tough guy…"

Once both Kael and Lavitz were set down on the floor of the inn-like building, Trixie set about looking for things she could use to assist their conditions.

"Does it hurt?"

Slumped against a wall, Lavitz found it more comfortable than sitting at one of the tables given the extensive damage to his leg, "It's just a scratch. I've had worse," with a smirk he brought a hand up to where his heart rested in his chest, "If something doesn't kill me outright, it won't keep me down."

Trixie managed to find some medical supplies in a drawer and removed them before checking first that Kael was no longer bleeding and next that Lavitz was wincing in pain. Conscious person takes precedence over unconscious person as far as pain went, "We should at least cover your wound…"

Lavitz nodded and let Trixie use what little medical knowledge she had to patch him up, perhaps using a little too much in the ways of bandages and gauze but he was in no position to complain.

Once done, Trixie held a hand out to him to shake, "So, I'm Trixie. Thank you for helping."

"Your friend spoke about you. I'm glad I could be of assistance," the Warrior smiled, though it was followed by a quick grunt of pain as his leg's wound flared up.

Trixie cast her eyes over to Kael, who was resting against a barrel of sorts. He had done something insane to come and save her. The thought made her nearly blush in embarrassment as well as question her own courage and loyalty. Would she have done exactly as he had done in his place? While not a coward, Trixie doubted she could have mustered the will to power through a cove of bandits for the sake of one person.

Still, he had…and now he was sleeping off countless injuries, having very well come close to dying.

"He's an idiot."

Saying that helped Trixie ignore the awkwardness of thinking about what Kael did for her. Thinking of what he did being stupid rather than brave. Why did he risk himself for her like that? Sure, they were partners, but this was far and beyond what she would expect of someone to do on behalf of a mere partner!

Lavitz nodded as he glanced over to the man resting nearby, "You aren't really wrong. After all, if he and I hadn't crossed paths, I don't think either of us would have gotten out alive."

"Will he be alright?"

"I have a feeling he'll be just fine…" Lavitz sighed as he closed his eyes and leaned back, "If he's half as strong as the Elf my father served under, he'll be just fine."

That perked Trixie's interest. This man was obviously some kind of soldier or fighter, probably from the nearby Stormwind, so it being a generational thing made her wonder about what that must be like, "Your father was a soldier too?"

"He was, just as his father before him," his eyes opened as his head titled back to move his gaze to the ceiling of the abandoned inn, "He died years ago, back when we were still allied with you. He died serving Kael'thas Sunstrider when Garithos turned on them."

As Lavitz spoke Trixie set about finding him food, for the longer she looked at him the more she realized he had not been eating regularly in what must have been months. He had the body of someone who ought to be in peak physical condition, only degraded by starvation. It showed by how he could take more damage than someone ought to, but perhaps that was willpower rather than his physical capability.

He nodded in thanks as Trixie brought him some plain bread left on a table in the room, "Don't worry. The world may be at war, but I owe your friend my life," he wolfed down the loaf and let out a content sound before looking once again towards Kael, "My father died saving a man named Kael'thas, and now I find myself indebted to one such man. Fate can be real funny sometimes…"

That left Trixie in an awkward place, because to her it meant that Kael had forgotten completely about whatever sacrifice the Warrior's father had made years back. Had the Warrior picked up on the identity of Kael and was not bringing it up, or was he of the mind that many Elves with blonde hair were simply named Kael'thas after their lord?

In an attempt to divert the subject, Trixie looked to the still open entrance and decided it best to shut it while discussing what lay beyond it.

"What should we do now?"

"I must return to Stormwind…" Lavitz tried to raise himself to his feet but failed, "You are welcome to join me. I am sure Lord Wrynn will reward you two for your bravery."

Trixie frowned. Walking straight into a hive of Humans might not prove that…safe. After all, they had met a couple nice ones, but how lucky could they possibly get time after time in terms of who they would come across? Would the King even be receptive to those of their persuasion?

"He won't mind our…"

Trixie pointed to her ears and eyes, earning a chortle from the Human in their company.

"He is a Warrior through and through. He sees your people as the enemy now because they are a part of the Horde these days, but he's accepted the aid of an Elf before, he can be reasonable, especially if we inform him of the Brotherhood's defeat."

While it was certainly a risk, Trixie actually saw some potential use out of meeting with a King…namely, if he didn't execute them on the spot, he could be a good contact and hook to have in ways. Besides, they were being hunted and if the Hunter was still breathing she would find them again.

"I don't see a better alternative…our only other friends are far away," thinking back to Silvermoon, Trixie once again hoped that their allies had made it out of the whole slaughter alright, "Mitter'meyer and Reuenthal are probably worried about us…"

The mention of the blonde Elf's name made Lavitz's eyes open, "Mitter'meyer, the Gale Wolf?"

Trixie nodded, surprised that he reacted as if he knew the man in some form. Gale Wolf rang a bell in her head for whatever reason so she nodded along, "I think so. You know him?"

He nodded, "He was one of the up and coming soldiers when my father was serving Lord Kael'thas on the behalf of Stormwind," he closed his eyes again as he leaned back, "Every kid has their idols, and a commoner rising through the ranks with honor and valor is quite the hero to aspire to."

"He's a good man. We helped him out of a rough spot and he invited us over to a nice meal at his house in return. I wish everyone was as kind as him and his wife," which made it all the weirder to Trixie that the two had not created more Mitter'meyers and Evangelines yet. He was such a devoted husband after all…

To think that without the intervention of her and Kael that he may have been brainwashed or purged made Trixie almost shudder. Silvermoon wasn't in a great spot even before a fake Kael'thas came to ruin everyone's day…

"I'd like to meet him one day, but I don't see how that will happen now except on the battlefield. Even then, I wonder what would win out: his speed or my stamina?"

Trixie left her pondering to rejoin the current conversation. The idea of a man as kind as this coming to fight Mitter'meyer, another great man, did not sit right with Trixie…yet such a thing might come to be given the ongoing conflict between their races.

"I would hate to have you fight him."

To counter the thought of war, Trixie tried looking for one of those health potions that Kael had given her. Coming across a set of red vials in the kitchen in the back of the inn gave her hope that perhaps these could treat the wounds better than simply stopping their bleeding.

As she re-entered the main room of the inn Lavitz finally spoke back, his eyes closed once again as he rested, "Aye, but isn't that the tragedy of war? We can appreciate and honor our enemies for their merits, yet we groan and complain about our own people for their flaws."

Trixie handed him a potion and gave a small smile. Why couldn't their nations get along this easily?

"I suppose that's why I don't mind patching you up, though you're hardly an enemy."

"And you are doing quite well at it," he took the entire vial in a single gulp before looking over to Trixie force feeding Kael one, "Between that and the care you showed to even an enemy, I must say you are a compassionate woman. There are few like you here in this land, and I'd reckon someone with that kind of heart would make a great wife."

"Thank you," Trixie blushed again from embarrassment, though she could not argue that whatever morals and values she held felt different from the norm of this land, "Perhaps one day, but right now I'm too young for something like that."

Lavitz sighed as he thought about how old he was. Not yet thirty, he felt that he had a whole life ahead of him while at the same time as if yesterday he had been a child. Life could go by faster for some than others, and it was not a resource to be thrown away without great cause, "No-one lives forever. Life has a way of making sure of that. Take my favorite flower for example, the cherry blossom. Its beauty is greater than any other, but sadly its time in this world is short."

The mention of cherry blossoms made Trixie's long ears perk straight up. Ever since her sudden recollection she had the image of swirling cherry blossom petals going through her mind, but it had been in the back of her mind. Something about them calmed her, made her feel emotions long forgotten and, while she wasn't sure that they were her favorite flower, she most certainly had an admiration for them.

Thinking more about them, Trixie could remember a particular yard with a cherry blossom tree…but the specifics evaded her. Was it home? It probably was, as she felt calm when thinking about the serene setting.

"You know, I happen to be quite a fan of those flowers as well. They are not common where I live, but I had one back home."

"I will have to show you my own sometime. They aren't common here either, but the Pandaren certainly have a certain beauty to their flora—"

Lavitz's words about the Pandaren would be held for a later time as Kael lurched upward and sat straight up all the while coughing, having been force fed too much healing potion by Trixie. Not only that, his face appeared pale, like he had seen a ghost.

Trixie patted him on the back and tried to help him cough out whatever went down the wrong pipe in his throat, "Kael, are you okay?"

"I…"

He shook his head. He would not worry Trixie with the nightmare she had just accidently stirred him from.

"I'll be fine. It was just a dream."

Noticing that Lavitz was nearby and thus still with them, Kael looked to him and smiled.

"Lavitz...thank you."

It'd have been impossible for Kael to save Trixie alone, and Kael found himself indebted to yet another person. He only hoped he could get to the point he wouldn't rely on others so much, but for now he was mortal and needed others.

Lavitz shrugged it off, "No need to thank me. I owe you just as much, after all."

Looking back to Trixie, Kael thought about something that he had been meaning to tell her about, "Trixie, Nana should be at the Saldeans'. There was a fire, so no-one is there…"

With the healing potion coursing through him, Lavitz finally had the strength to pull himself to his feet, "Well then, we should go get her before we go to Stormwind then."

"Stormwind?"

Trixie gave Kael a nervous grin, realizing that he hadn't heard the talk about it, "Ehh, why not? It's not as if we can return to Silvermoon…"

That rose the curiosity of Lavitz, who had been out of the loop for months and months as far as events went, "Has something happened to Silvermoon?"

"It's…a long story," Kael said as a filler explanation, not really sure how much he should tell someone of another race about how utterly weak and defenseless Silvermoon was right then. After all, while Lavitz was an ally, he also had loyalties to his own King, "I'm not sure how much I should say, given the circumstances."

Lavitz held a hand up to silence him, "I understand. I wouldn't want to speak out of place about my own land," he moved over to the door and opened it up, finding that the sky outside was beginning to dim as the afternoon set in, "Now, how about we find this 'Nana' and head to Stormwind? I want to put as much ground as possible between us and those pursuing you."

* * *

Nana happened to be very enthusiastic about the return of Trixie, and after the two embraced (while Kael and Lavitz secured any belongings and things that should be taken along) for some time, the group headed off to a forest that bordered the edge of Westfall and led towards where Stormwind lay. Dusk set in before long, and given how the group traveled slowly on-foot they did not get too far. Trixie still felt uncomfortable transforming in front of a semi-stranger, though she now once again had pepper just in case she had to transform out of necessity.

Once they got well into the forest the sun was well on its way to setting, and while bushes nearby rustled and the occasional animal could be seen, nothing seemed particularly out to kill them just yet. This combination of factors made Lavitz stop the others, who he had been leading due to his greater familiarity with the land.

"We should camp here for the night. Stormwind is nearby, but I am afraid my legs will not be able to carry me much further."

"I doubt Stormwind would like visitors this late anyways," Kael joked, but it was met with a serious look from the Human rather than an amused one due to how true it was.

"No, I would suppose not."

Using the bedding and supplies they had gathered together they managed to set up a camp of sorts while using nearby wood they managed a fire with Kael's aid. Once everyone was settled into their temporary camp, Lavitz tried to stir up conversation with a topic he had on his mind this whole time.

"What are you two doing so far down south, if you don't mind me asking?"

Kael pointed a thumb over in Trixie's direction before bringing it back in to point at himself, "We're travelers. She seeks fame and glory, while I have a more personal quest."

"Fame, huh?" Lavitz smirked at Trixie as his mind came up with ways to fulfill her own quest, "You might happen to like the arena in Stormwind then. There is plenty to go around there."

"I have heard of this 'arena' before. There is one in Stormwind?" Trixie questioned. Could this finally be the break she needed to succeed in this land?

"One of the finest. I can show you it after we meet with Lord Wrynn and stop by my house to ease my mother's fears."

On top of the blanket she had spread out on the ground Trixie placed her hands on her hips and tilted her head back snobbishly, "I would be most grateful for the chance to display my absolute brilliance before a crowd."

Lavitz had taken to laying on a nice patch of grass, with his wounded leg propped up on a pile of leaves he had gathered, "Well, if you are to capture hearts and minds, now is the time to do so. Before long our people will be at each other's throats in more open warfare rather than facing down the Illidari."

He laid down completely and closed his eyes as he once again tried to rest. Kael had offered to be the first watch of the night and Lavitz was in no position to complain, "At least, that is, if the conflict has not escalated to greatly during my absence. Given how slow these things tend to be though I do not expect it has."

"The Illidari? Are those Illidan's forces?" Trixie asked, wanting to make sure she grasped the conversation's greater context given the pieces of information she did know.

"Yes. He has gone mad from what I have last heard, and he has become a tyrant. He must be stopped before he does something drastic, as he has been known to do. One does not end up imprisoned for ten millennia for smelling flowers and skipping in meadows."

Kael nodded, face paling slightly as he thought about what fighting Illidan's forces meant, "And I suppose stopping him means facing down Kael'thas and the other Elves he has with him in support of Illidan."

What was that other Kael'thas going to lead their people into, if not ruin?

"Unfortunately, yes," Lavitz confirmed, his gaze lingering on Kael as he said so. Kael did not notice this however, as he in turn was looking to Trixie. They were exchanging glances towards Lavitz. After they came to a non-verbal agreement, Kael spoke up again.

"I do not believe you to be the sort who would abuse this knowledge, so I will pass it along to you in case it is useful…"

As her partner trailed off Trixie picked up the slack, "You see, we're here for more than just our own reasons."

Kael nodded over to their newest partner, who was suddenly attentive rather than dozing off, "Silvermoon was attacked by the Illidari. Red, demon powered Orcs entered the city and slaughtered those in their path."

He intentionally left out the involvement of the pseudo-Kael to keep things from getting to weird and possibly giving himself away, but Kael had a feeling as if he had already been found out and Lavitz was allowing him to keep the secret really just as a formality.

"They were seeking some kind of power source, and they found it," Trixie frowned as she remembered the sheer barbaric display of the forces under Kargath. Were all Orcs so brutal?

"Interesting…" Lavitz brought a hand to his chin as he pondered this development, "If so, then that means they must have something monumental planned if they are turning on their own kind."

He looked between the two of them, "Come to think of it, an Elf was hunting you," he stopped when his eyes reached Trixie, at which point they lingered as he continued to think about the issue, "And you were kidnapped for some kind of reward I believe. It's surprising that the Defias was granted so many resources in such a short period of time. Someone powerful must have backed them and wanted to reward either group for your capture, yet the Defias did not seem interested in both of you."

Everything he said checked out, and both Trixie and Kael nodded along as he spoke, but at the same time they found themselves surprised by the depths of the Warrior. He was no brute, as easily as someone of his skillset could be. Each of them was sure he would continue to keep surprising them if they let him, so they increased their expectations of him to offset future surprise.

"I can tell you both are good people, so I think we can rule out criminal activity as being the cause for your wanted status. And I think we can rule out the Alliance and the Horde as the Defias's large benefactor as the Alliance would not side with the Defias, and the Horde would more than likely not rely on Humans to do their own task. Of course, this leaves open the opportunity that the Hunter woman worked for the Horde, but…"

Kael cut him off with a gesture. It was getting late, and the others ought to rest. He couldn't wait for a few hours to go by and he could wake someone else to pick up his slack, at which point he could sleep off his remaining aches and pains.

"I would rather leave that discussion for tomorrow, when I'm not suffering from quite so many wounds."

Trixie nodded as she lay down on the ground beside Kael, their shared blanket keeping her from dirtying herself on the ground, "As would I. I…have things to think about."

Lavitz acquiesced to their desire, being quite tired himself and figuring there would always be another time to bring it up the next day, "Of course. I ought to rest myself…my spirit is tougher than my body it would seem. Now that the energy of battle has worn off me I can't help but relax."

It did not take long for the soldier to fall asleep, completely trusting his allies to not abandon him or rob him. Kael watched over the area for what felt like a minute but may have been more like an hour, his mind wrapped up in his nightmare from before, when Trixie's voice interrupted him.

"Hey Kael?"

He lowered a hand to brush against her cheek. He was glad she was safe and unharmed…for the most part.

"Yes?"

Trixie took his hand in her own and squeezed it. She was mad he had been so reckless, but was happy nonetheless that he cared enough to save her.

Still, something was gnawing at her since their time in the cave. She felt like a thread was still loose from it all, like there was something to solve.

"Can we look into who killed Edwin VanCleef? You know, when we get the chance. Doesn't have to be right away…"

The question gave Kael pause not because he was not interested in the subject of an Elf coming to Westfall and defeating the former Defias leader, but because he was quite certain he already knew the answer.

That being said, he did not feel comfortable telling Trixie, and so he deflected the subject.

"Perhaps we ought to let some tragedies just rest where they lay. Finding the man would help no-one find peace at this point."

Trixie sighed. Kael was right, of course, as it would no longer bring Vanessa any peace, and there was no real justice to be had against an Elf who fought against a criminal.

"I suppose you are right…"

Still, what was it that Vanessa said about him again? Trixie was struggling to remember, but she felt that it had to do something with his face.

In any case, Trixie drifted off to sleep comfortable in the fact that she was surrounded by good people…and with a pet Mana Wyrm in her arms, cuddling with her as Kael looked on with envy.

* * *

Mitter'meyer watched as his closest friend seized up suddenly and let out a powerful sneeze. When Reuenthal was done with the motion, Mitter'meyer could not help but smile as the man reopened his black eye and his blue eye. It was not common to see Reuenthal break his detached, cold façade at any point and so even him doing so with a sneeze was amusing for his more impassioned friend.

To try and retain some dignity, Reuenthal cleared his throat and waxed on about something he heard in passing some time ago, his face not betraying any emotion as Mitter'meyer continued to smirk at him from across the dinner table, "It is said in some cultures that when you sneeze, it is because someone is speaking about you."

"What a silly superstition. Where did you pick that up, the Human territories?" Mitter'meyer laughed for a moment before calming down and looking towards the kitchen, where he heard his wife finishing the final preparations for what ought to be an exquisite meal.

Reuenthal nodded in affirmation, thinking back to his time amongst the Humans in the south. He was half-Human himself, something that helped lead to his unique eyes, but he had grown up amongst Elves and so viewed the Human culture as a wholly foreign one, "Yes, I believe I did come across that odd belief there. Interesting…"

Perhaps someone there, such as their lord, was thinking of him? For whatever reason could he be doing such a thing, should the Human superstition be true?

Mitter'meyer glanced outside to where the sun was setting and sighed. He regretted not being able to help his Prince without serving as a magnet for trouble and attention given his own ranking, "I wonder how Lord Kael'thas is managing in the south?"

Reuenthal nearly finished what would be his third glass of wine that night and smirked as he thought about the possibilities, many of which did not bode too well for them, "Well enough I imagine. That woman who pursued him has not returned with his head just yet, but it could be that the weight of our lord's skull is slowing her on her return trip."

"Don't say things like that," Mitter'meyer criticized, for while not treasonous it was still almost an insult to their Prince.

To defend himself, Reuenthal proposed another possibility for his alcohol had made him more talkative, "Alternatively, he may have allied himself with some Humans and will be sending us her head, not that I would particularly care for such a gift. Where they traveled there is a cove of bandits, and though they have been cleared out before it has been some time now and they may have returned."

Mitter'meyer relaxed as he entertained the possibility of Kael'thas befriending some Humans. There were some such as Bolvar Fordragon that could be quite formidable, and further thinking on the topic made Mitter'meyer wonder whatever happened to his old comrade's son who was well on his way to becoming a knight, "Oh? You think he's taken them as allies?"

Reuenthal looked down at the little remaining wine in his glass, his hand softly swirling the liquid in the glass with small movements, "Perhaps. It can play out in two different ways: one, he and his companion befriend the bandits as the bandits are opposed to Stormwind and seek its downfall much like we now do, or two, he could help out other Humans against these bandits and earn their trust. Perhaps even free some of the prisoners the bandits are prone to taking."

Mitter'meyer sighed as he thought about how stressful that might be for their Prince. He had full faith in his ability to defeat such a small threat, but he did not wish extra hardships upon their lord like Reuenthal seemed capable of imagining, as correct as he might be, "For their sake, I hope they aren't fighting any thieves and ruffians. Our lord has enough on his shoulders."

When he finished speaking the sound of two plates softly gracing the surface of the table caught the attention of both men. Evangelin had snuck in while they were speaking with the first two plates of the large feast she had readied to celebrate the recent announcement that Lord Regent Lor'themar was to honor her husband and his friend for their distinguished service during the Silvermoon invasion.

"Here you are," she stated politely before backing up and preparing to turn around to the kitchen to take the remaining platters and plates in.

Reuenthal nodded towards his friend's wife while Mitter'meyer gleefully looked over the various foods before him like a child opening gifts.

"Thank you, Evangelin. Your skill and graciousness are unparalleled."

She smiled to Reuenthal, but did not respond verbally. He was Mitter'meyer's friend, and while she did not hold ill will towards him she was put-off by his aloof demeanor. Could someone who only smiled at their own misfortune truly be the best choice of friend for her husband?

Seeing them chat away at the table though, she was happy to see her husband enjoying himself. Mitter'meyer was laughing and smiling as he began to exchange old stories with his partner, and Reuenthal nodded along as his friend spoke.

For the man with the odd eyes, drinking did not free himself from the demons he felt stirring inside him: self-loathing only being the first of many. Being around a cheerful man and his loving wife contrasted so greatly to the only family life he had ever known: a bitter, abusive father and a mother who had tried killing him the day he opened his eyes to reveal her infidelity with color alone.

That night, when he fell asleep on their dining table rather unceremoniously due to cup after cup of wine, he dreamt just as Kael had earlier: only, he did not have someone to stir him from what he saw.

* * *

_**Author's Note: Hidden depths all around!**_

_**I wonder who defeated (not killed) Edwin VanCleef? They'd have to have knowledge of the area, be an Elf, and have mismatched eyes? Ehh, I'm sure we'll find out eventually. Bet it's some nasty lowlife too who is full of themself and did it for gold or something! **_

_**Hope to hear your thoughts in the reviews below!**_


	20. 19: Queens and Kings and Nathrezim Oh my

**_A/N: Special thanks to _******_FutureShock _******_for your review last chapter. I've been really looking forward to this chapter for awhile now, so I hope you enjoy and let me know what you think in the reviews below!_**

* * *

To the south-west of Silvermoon and the north of Westfall and Stormwind, the Forsaken bastion known as Undercity sat as a focal point of the continent's conflicts: the Alliance plagued the southern region, the knight templar soldiers known the Scarlet Crusade were campaigning to Undercity's south, and the Scourge surrounded their North and kept the Elven allies of the Forsaken holed away from the rest of the world except for their access to the seas and sky. Undercity was in a geographically precarious location, and it is little wonder that the former Human capital that it rested beneath was once taken.

The Forsaken were Undead free from the Lich King's sway, and they were fighting an unending war on all fronts to assure that this would forever be true.

They were not the mindless sort of Undead who sought to wipe out all other species and life at the behest of their ruthless leader Arthas Menethil, who sold his soul for power. The Undead were free because of the machinations of their leader, Sylvanas Windrunner, who had been an Elven Ranger-General before the Human Prince Arthas had slain her before then going on to resurrect her to suffer further. He then ravaged her Kingdom, leading the once prideful and haughty Blood Elves to their current state of desperation.

Sylvanas would not have her new people, those risen by Arthas and stolen from his control, face the same fate as the waning Elves. Hated by many, yet given a place amongst the Horde, this was their time to stake their claim in the world.

"Varimathras, a scout has informed me that the Scarlet Crusade is gathering up its strength for an invasive campaign northwards. Seeing as how they are barely at arms reach, how do you believe we should deal with their irritating presence?"

Within the inner chambers of Undercity, Sylvanas loomed over a map of the continent her people were struggling on. Beside and partially behind her was her right-hand-man and adviser, Varimathras. When standing side by side, their difference in heights was seemingly exaggerated between him and her: Varimathras was just under ten feet tall, compared to her more average Elven height.

The reason for this was simple: Sylvanas did not employ one of her own to help her run things, but rather a grand schemer belonging to a race of grand schemers known as the Nathrezim. Known mainly for being the commanding officers in armies of demons and for their penchant for having everyone play to their plans like a fiddle, Varimathras was simply one who had been pressed into service by Sylvanas.

While he was a few feet taller, far broader, and had leathery wings that made him appear even larger by how they broadened his frame further, it was Sylvanas who was the one in power. Varimathras did not stay because he particularly cared for his scheming, conniving boss who reminded him too much of himself, but because he had no choice in the matter.

The demon Nathrezim, known to some colloquially as a dreadlord, responded to her inquiry with a look so as to say it was no major issue, "I do not believe them to a threat to our prolonged existence. They seek to wipe out Arthas, and while misguided in also confronting your forces milady, I believe it best to leave them be and let them wear down the strength of the Lich King."

"When they are pressing at our borders and whittling what little strength we have away?" Sylvanas narrowed her eyes at her servant, not fearing his claws and fangs for a second as she stared him down, "Where is your sense of urgency, Varimathras? I do not remember you acting this cumbersome in thought or action when I was destroying your forces and brought you to heel."

Varimathras snorted, the dreadlord equal parts irritated by her reminder of his defeat and amused by how she seemed to be the desperate one for once given her own words.

"Of course not, for my life depended on my acting in haste, just as I did not hesitate to slay my own brother Balnazzar when the time came for it and you gave me no choice, even if doing so broke the most sacred rule to my kind. Different situations call for different approaches."

He remembered well the day that Sylvanas asked of him to slay his own brother, Balnazzar. Varimathras had little say in the matter, and while he initially protested he did strike at his brother in the end. Being told to slay the Human Garithos moments later helped better his mood, but it did little to save Balnazzar's honor or spare Varimathras's pride.

"Ahh, yes, you Nathrezim and your vows to not slay one another…" Sylvanas grinned to herself as she finished looking over the map only to then look up at him with a glint in her eye, "How quickly you would forsake your values for your own life, Varimathras."

Varimathras hoped her seeing him strike his brother down and the older dreadlord vanishing in a flash of smoke satisfied her of his loyalty to her. She had said it would be the last test of his loyalty, but he could never be too sure if that was the truth. Of course his loyalty was not absolute, how could it be? But to needle him about his seeming spinelessness would not make him shape up and change: he made his choice back then, and he stood by it.

When he did not respond to her verbal jab, the Forsaken leader went back to looking over the map and ran a finger over the space separating the Alliance territory and their own, "The Scarlet Crusade is close enough to the Alliance to put them at risk as well. You are a skilled manipulator, would you mind to have them clean up this mess for us?"

Her adviser paused as he looked over the markings concerning the Scarlet Crusade's presence, and after mulling over how to use this opportunity best he spoke up in a cautious tone, "Perhaps I can persuade them to attack an outpost of the Scarlet Crusade, but I am afraid their attentions may still largely remain on the rising Illidari threat."

While normally demanding and expecting the best from her followers, Sylvanas was not deluded. She too knew the threat of dealing with Outland and the Burning Legion, and the threat of those who were strong enough to resist the Legion on their own such as the Illidari. If the conflict with the Illidari was to increase into a full scale invasion and war on the parts of both the Alliance and Horde, she could not discount how this would divert attentions from their own lands.

"I suppose that cannot be helped. Have it done, Varimathras. That King Wrynn is a soldier, not a leader. It is about time the world learns the difference."

With that Sylvanas stood up straight and turned to leave the room, leaving Varimathras behind and alone in the room. He watched as she left, giving her a respectful nod as he did so.

"Of course, my lady."

Sylvanas gone without another word, he snorted and began to look over the map again. His eyes focused on the Scarlet Crusade with a mixture of apprehension and weariness. He was a schemer, and it had taken him some great effort to keep the Forsaken from completely overcoming the pesky organization. Sylvanas herself could wipe out a great many of them, but should she fall her people would too and so she did not take to the field as often as she once had.

So it was up to Varimathras to be effective enough to earn his keep, while be ineffective enough to keep her from succeeding at the rate she had previously been accustomed to. Just as Arthas had defeated her and sought to make her suffer once, she now had Varimathras under her own thumb and the pale demon despised it.

He tapped his finger on the Scarlet Monastery, once bastion of Lordaeron's priesthood and a center for learning and enlightenment, now a stronghold for the xenophobic fanatics seeking to root out the Undead and all who knowingly or unknowingly may aid them…that is, fuel the Scourge's armies by dying.

"Wiping them out would be easy with any coordinated effort given their lack of friends in this world…" he withdrew his hand and thought of his brothers. Balnazzar was always the strongest of them, as well as the one who seemed to always have a plan. Their other brother Detheroc was the one with the greatest psychic powers, capable of mind control and illusions both, leaving Varimathras to be the one who got by with his mixture of talents, talents he would not dare utilize at full for the sake of Sylvanas, "But that would be beneficial to you, my lady, and Balnazzar would be forever perturbed by my sudden usefulness to the witch who saw him slain."

Balnazzar was the eldest brother in their family and the one most concerned with duty and their own warped honor. If not for his guidance and skill at commanding, the trio of dreadlords would have been defeated ages ago…but even he had met his match in facing Sylvanas. Now their family name held no value, they had fallen from respected Nathrezim to among the lowest for their failure to enact the Legion's will, and Varimathras would not let that continue. He owed it to each of his brothers who he helped bring down for Sylvanas.

After all, he might have betrayed them for his own life, but how could he ever enact his revenge if he was slain? Balnazzar understood that concept quite well. They all had.

"My lord, there is a messenger from Silvermoon requesting aid to help at their borders."

It took a moment for Varimathras to even notice he had been spoken to. Some Forsaken wretch was the one to stir him from his thoughts. Their body was in permanent limbo between life and death, possessing flesh atop its bone but entire chunks were missing in grotesque fashion.

The beings disgusted the dreadlord, but they were the beings at his disposal so he would use them like he would an Imp or a mindless Voidwalker: to enact his will and nothing more. He was not attached to their plight nor their history. Each of the animated corpses looked the same to him, and he awaited the day he would never have to see their wretched appearance again. He had enough with the Undead when he and the others helped lead the Scourge before it was stolen away from them by the Lich King.

Thinking over the message conveyed though, Varimathras decided that this was another good way to squander resources while outwardly doing as his master would wish of him, "Give them whatever pittance is needed to keep their people from being overrun by the Scourge. We cannot allow it to progress any further in this land if we are to one day overcome Arthas as is needed for our survival, and for the revenge of Lady Sylvanas."

_Our revenge._

* * *

After camping the night in the forest, Trixie and the others approached Stormwind with some haste. They were not sure if they were still being hunted, so they sought it as a safe refuge from the Hunter and her associates.

The city was a massive fortress, with walls multiple stories tall and the outward appearance of a mighty castle from the outside. Not a boxy one, but a sprawling sort that held many different strongholds and structures in its sprawling landscape.

Entering was not as simple as they had hoped, as the sight of two Elves made the guards at the gate prepare their weapons and yell that they were under attack, but the moment they noticed that the ill-fed man leading them towards the city was one of their own Captains they quieted down immediately.

The front of the city was so crowded with random Humans that Trixie actually had trouble observing the surroundings since it was packed person to person as everyone stood about engaging in trade, chat, and the occasional fight over something trivial. With the guidance of Lavitz though they managed to fight through the crowds and get to the front of the building that served as the command center and true castle of Stormwind.

The setup of it was ideally suited for defense, with a sloped hill leading up to the structure and the path would be a literal uphill battle for intruders. Guards stood posted along it, but they seemed lax as they watched the day go about. Such laxness seemed to show that they were either unused to combat, or so sure of themselves that they did not fear a sudden ambush, both of which put the Elf duo at ease because both instances meant they were not likely to come into any harm here.

Lavitz had insisted they go straight to the King, and while Kael and Trixie each thought that this meant the soldier would speak with the King while they were entertained elsewhere, they were surprised to find that they were led straight to the leader himself where he stood straight down the entrance hallway of the stone fortress.

The lord of Stormwind was a tall man with dark brown hair that flared back into a wild ponytail. He wore the full armor of a warrior, though its faded steel blue and bronze was shaped in intricate rather than functional manners to give it an impressive look while seeming impractical. Further solidifying his intimidating warrior presence was a sword at his side that was as big as Trixie was wide and about half her height.

The place the King was sitting was a throne placed in a circular hallway that met the one Trixie and Kael were being led up by their new party member, and while the trio did not take a detour around the curved hallway they could see that it led to at least two other sections of the building. It was doughnut shaped, or rather an inverse donut because the open section was the ring and the solid space was the inner piece. At the closest point of the inner piece rest the throne, from which King Varian Wrynn looked upon the three.

Once they reached the man Lavitz knelt down before him, shame appearing on the soldier's face as he began to lament about his absence from duty.

"Lord Wrynn. I return from the field, and I apologize for having been unable to fulfill my duties these past months."

Wrynn scoffed before gesturing for Lavitz to get up, his eyes having been locked on his returning soldier the whole time because he was so relieved to see him well and alive. Due to this the fact that Lavitz was followed by two others, Elves even, barely registered with him beyond noticing they exist.

Hoping not to offend, Trixie and Kael each knelt down as well. They wouldn't want to upset someone who could just have them executed at any moment after all, and as they knelt Trixie kept glancing at Kael as her heart beat rapidly in her chest. Would the King recognize Kael? That could be…disastrous.

"Rise off those knees, Lavitz. You should all make yourselves comfortable now that you are among friends," he stood up to place a hand on Lavitz's shoulder, the King being taller than his soldier by a good degree due to Lavitz's average height and the King's large figure, "Anduin was worried, and it was hard explaining to him what may have befallen you. I am glad you have returned safely. You can rest and recover as long as you need before returning to duty."

The modest knight lowered his head graciously, "Your majesty, it is more than I deserve."

A dark haired woman in red and white cloth robes standing a few feet to the side of the throne spoke up, making her presence known to the group who had been so in awe of the King that they hadn't even noticed her yet, "It's true that your presence was missed. Anduin was bawling for quite some time for his favorite guard to return."

The King of Stormwind laughed as he held a hand out towards her while using the other to give one last reassuring pat to his soldier, "Oh Lady Prestor, no need to tease my son such. Lavitz is an old friend to us all, much as his family has been throughout the years," he turned back to face Lavitz, curiosity forming on the King's face and reducing his intimidating look, "Anyways, I would like to hear from you about where you may have been. What could have kept a master of martial arts such as yourself busy for so long?"

"After my forces were wiped out in an ambush by the leaders of the reborn Defias Brotherhood, I was taken captive and held against my will in the Deadmines."

Wrynn scrunched his thick eyebrows, obviously surprised by the revelation that the cause was none other than the Defias, "The Deadmines? They recovered from VanCleef's defeat already?"

Lavitz nodded before gesturing back to the still kneeling Elves, "Yes, however, thanks to this man and his partner I managed to break out as well as defeat the Brotherhood once again. Let me introduce these people to you. Kael and Trixie."

The King approached the two and silently gestured for them to rise. This done, he held a hand out to each of them one at a time to shake them in recognition of their deeds, "I thank you for both saving Lavitz and defeating the Brotherhood. If there is any way I might be able to repay our debt to you, you need only ask."

Trixie gave the King a polite curtsy and smiled at him, though she said little more than "Thank you, Lord Wrynn" as she had his attention upon her. As he turned to face Kael, he received a different response.

Kael had measured the immediate reaction of Varian to looking him in the eye, and when the King paused briefly upon observing his face Kael made a quick decision based on the seeming recognition.

"Then, perhaps if I may be so bold, I will cut to the chase."

Kael bowed in a grandiose fashion while gesturing to himself, a smile upon his face as he made a proclamation even bolder than he had alluded to.

"My name is Kael'thas Sunstrider, crown Prince of the Blood Elves."

The response was…less than positive.

"Guards!"

Varian himself grabbed Kael by the throat in a flash far faster than Kael or Trixie could keep up with. He lifted Kael off his feet while an entire retinue of soldiers surrounded the area with weapons drawn. Trixie had taken a step back in surprise, but Lavitz batted one of her hands down as it had instinctively taken on a glow: Trixie had nearly retaliated without thinking, and saving a soldier's life could not outweigh an attempted assassination attempt on a King, accident or not.

Kael took it all in stride, having fully expected this reaction, "Before we get too hasty, I would like to speak. I do not come here as an enemy…"

Wrynn glared at Kael, becoming far more fearsome as he finally was trying to be: his sword was drawn and prepared to gut the man in his hands, but even the Warrior man knew not to act that quickly. He would hear this man out first, and if he didn't like what he had to say…

"Why should I not have you executed right here and now for everything you have done?"

Kael continued to smile at the King, his mouth more in a smirk than an actual smile. Trixie watched in horror as he spoke again, while Lavitz watched with some anxiety of his own. These people had saved him, and while their races were at war he had no personal quarrel with Kael. He had been quite sure the entire time of who was helping him escape the Deadmines, but he had initially chalked it up to simply seeing things brought upon by weeks of starvation.

Now, his King was nearly about to kill a would-be King who had once been an ally to them, and who Lavitz now owned his life. While Trixie was wholly fearful for her closest friend and companion, she, Mitter'meyer and Reuenthal were no longer the only ones concerned for the Prince's safety.

"I believe I have shown considerable good faith towards you and your people these past days. Would you so readily kill someone who seeks to make amends for the past? Slaying those who display kindness and lend aid to you will not make you many friends in the future."

Kael's words gave Varian further pause. Off to the side Lady Prestor watched with great interest, her eyes darting back and forth as she took mental notes about the situation.

Given that Wrynn did not respond in the first few seconds after Kael had spoken, Kael took the chance to throw out another piece of information that might stall his execution sentence, "And, I am not the man you think I am."

Varian stared at Kael intently as he slowly lowered him to the ground and let go of his neck, only for two soldiers to then seize Kael's arms, "Explain yourself, Elf, and do so quickly. I am not known for my patience."

If Kael was going to start playing this political game, he had to start somewhere…and beginning with a possible endorsement by a King, even an enemy King, couldn't hurt, so he spoke candidly.

"I have been usurped by someone pretending to be me, someone who wishes to use my station to enact an as of yet undetermined plot. Cut off from my people and not the one currently behind their reigns, I am a political refugee who is seeking to usurp the throne of the man who has usurped it from me. As I hope my actions will have shown, I am here respectfully and not at all as your enemy."

Varian took a hand to his own chin, and while he thought about the issue Lady Prestor moved in to whisper in his ear. He nodded after a moment and held up his sword to Kael's neck.

"If what you say is true, then prove yourself to be the true Kael'thas. Now, lest I carve you open and find out for myself what you are."

Trixie moved to open her mouth, but a wink from Kael caused her voice to catch in her throat. He was sure that her, an Elf, speaking to his credentials would be taken lightly…but not the other person who he knew would speak up.

"My lord, if I may speak on his behalf?"

Kael then turned to someone he had come to trust with his life in the past day: Lavitz, now standing to the side of Kael and with an arm in front of him in a protective manner.

Lavitz had taken Kael for an ally near instantly, and so Kael was giving the man whose instincts seemed quite keen the court to speak on his behalf.

This was the true gamble Kael had planned on making when he came up with his plan to reveal his identity: whether or not Lavitz would succeed at convincing the King. After all, what kind of idiot would just gut him without asking any questions? Varian might be a soldier, but he wasn't an axe crazy murderer…

No, he wasn't, Kael could already tell. This man was different entirely from that bastard Garithos who Kael had dreamed of the night before.

At that time, he did not know that he would soon cross paths with that of the one who killed Garithos as the start of one quest ran parallel to years of conspiracy and cunning.

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A/N: Hope to hear your thoughts in the comments below! Got to include some people I've wanted to use for quite some time!


	21. Level 20: Miss Communication

**_A/N: Special thanks to FutureShock for reviewing last chapter! Your support makes th__is story possible.__  
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_**I hope you enjoy and let me know what you think in the comments below!**_

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"Your wish to speak for him?"

Lavitz nodded silently, his eyes averted to the ground as he knelt before his lord. While the soldier knew this could be considered an act of defiance, he had already decided that he had to do everything he could for the Elven Lord whose act of bravery had both felled the Defias and saved the soldier's life.

The fact that a respected soldier was willing to stand up for the supposed real Kael'thas Sunstrider had an impact on Varian, who calmed down and let Kael'thas go.

"Very well."

Trixie rushed to Kael's side and helped him recover from being lifted and promptly dropped, but once he was steady they turned their attention to their Warrior friend. The King took his seat while Lavitz stood back up and saluted his lord and finally looked him in the eye again with a determined gaze.

"With my experience, I wholly believe this man to be the true Sunstrider heir. He has displayed the selflessness and determination that my father used to describe the Lord of the Elves, and no wicked or selfish man I know would have gone to the lengths he has to do such commendable deeds as he has. He will be a hero to Westfall now, and, while I do not know of this other being he says has taken his place, I can say with conviction that this man is who he says he is."

Kael felt his shoulders sag a little in relaxation as he realized that he just may be able to pull out of this thanks to his newfound companion. Trixie, standing beside him, had her unconscious grip on his arm loosen as she heard Lavitz speak. He had known them for such a brief period of time, but his gratitude was genuine and his intuition seemingly quick on the mark…she was actually kind of disappointed that he was a soldier of Stormwind and that they wouldn't be able to take him with them.

While Reuenthal and Mitter'meyer would be too high-profile to accompany them given their collective duties, Lavitz had already been missing for months and no doubt had been replaced in his absence.

The King seemed to take his soldier's words to heart, as he nodded along as Lavitz spoke and his hawkish gaze made it seem as if he was mulling over every word.

"Very well then," Wrynn looked to Kael with a piercing stare, "Sunstrider, I will give you the benefit of the doubt. Upon having heard reports of Silvermoon being assaulted by Fel Orcs under the leadership of that brute Kargath and his handler, the traitorous Kael'thas Sunstrider, I have good reason to distrust your name. Few are more deplorable than those who, in power, would betray the trust of their country and people for their own personal desires."

Trixie returned the fierce expression, not that any eyes were on her at the moment: she felt a need to be an idol in her own right, but of course she had partnered with someone who eclipsed her by merely existing…but hopefully that would change when she proved her mettle in the previously mentioned "Arena".

Varian looked over to his adviser Lady Prestor and then back to Kael when she gave the King a small nod. Before he could continue his decree, Lavitz spoke up once again to try and affirm the point of Kael's identity.

"This being said, I have absolutely no doubt that the other Kael'thas is a fraud who is a pale imitation of the one I have known through my father. While at times desperate and willing to do anything for his people, Kael'thas Sunstrider would never have turned on them. They were his life, and every decision he made was for their sake."

The selfless behavior proscribed made Kael feel sick to his stomach about the events of Silvermoon City. Kael had wanted to do something, but people far more powerful than he were slain without remorse…he had run, and now he was playing politics to buy himself more time. Outside survival, what did he even truly want? To return to the throne he was seemingly removed from?

Kael looked to his side, where Trixie was still gripping his arm without her even seemingly noticing it. She was the one who longed for something, and because of his own baggage she continually had to put her own quest on hold…but she would not leave his side, he could tell that much by this point. She was a lonely soul who needed someone else even if she did not say so out loud, and so perhaps he could be content to merely give her that companionship.

He moved a hand to touch where hers was gripping his arm, and she relaxed at his touch while also slightly jumping at the sudden contact since she had not realized her own, "I was there when he appeared in Silvermoon. Fortunately I managed to slip by unnoticed thanks to the aid of some loyalists, but I am afraid I do not know of the outcome of the invasion. It would have been certain death for me to confront them all in my current condition, that of a man whose powers have been stripped from him both politically and in magical ability."

"So then, why do you come before me today, Sunstrider? Our people are no longer allied. I have no obligation to put you back on your throne."

Kael wanted to say by accident, not expecting the King to be at the very front of the castle, but that would cause him to lose face and appear a liar and fraud.

In the second it took Kael to formulate a response Trixie spoke up instead, "No. You don't. But who would you rather have in power: a man who kills his own kind and abuses his power for nefarious reasons, or a man who is indebted to you and desires to make peace, even despite the wrongs your people have wrought upon our own under the reigns of Garithos?"

Mentioning the wrongs inflicted upon the Elves by the Humans years ago seemed to leave its mark on the King, who gained a visage of sorrow as his mind turned back to that dreadful conflict. Seeking to bank on this feeling, Kael followed up on Trixie's momentum.

"You can make right what was set wrong years ago. I do not wish for war with anyone, especially not those who until recently were our allies."

The Warrior King nodded blankly and sunk back in his seat as he finished mulling over the past. Once his mind was set straight he stood up again and approached them, offering a gauntlet-covered hand to Kael for a handshake, "If you are serious about your supposed noble intentions, I will give you a task. Succeed, and I will consider you a man of honor who can be negotiated with without prejudice or distrust. Fail, and you are not the Kael'thas that once could ward off armies of the Scourge to protect his people."

Kael hesitated to return the extended hand at first, not knowing what he was about to sign on to, but he realized that he really did not have any other option and to avoid being rude he took the hand in his own. The King's grip was like that of a bear, and while Kael tried to not appear weak by using all of the strength he could muster in return, he could tell that the King was not even trying to be firm in his grip.

"And this quest you ask of us?"

Varian smiled at Kael and let go, to the Elf's silent comfort and relief, "There is an organization that has plagued this land in recent years, known as the Scarlet Crusade. They seek to wipe out the Undead, no matter what form it takes, and to do this they have waged a war on the world itself. They are enemies to all, and they divide the strength of my people by diverting them to this secondary cause."

The King turned back to his guards and gestured them to come closer. This done, he looked back to Kael.

"Until you are to leave for the task, you will stay here under our care."

"No."

Kael felt his eyes widen in fear as he realized the noise had come from beside him from none other than Trixie. He knew she could be obstinate, but to speak against a King…

Varian gave Trixie a wary look, his previous apprehension now beginning to turn towards her, "You have something to say, Miss?"

Unlike everyone else in the room, Trixie did not seem to give a damn that she was being glared at by royalty. Perhaps it was haughty arrogance and perhaps it was a result of her shock from the Defias events, but no matter what it was born from she would not give this man an inch if she could so help it.

"You may claim it is for his protection, but ordering him to stay here sounds awfully like imprisonment, especially given that we have no way of knowing you'll ever let him leave," Trixie scoffed as she gestured to Kael, "What do you think he is going to do if you just let him go? Take over all of Stormwind without an army? He is no threat, so you needn't fear him."

"You really do care," Kael joked under his breath, and the implications were not lost upon Trixie who instantly scoffed at him as well.

"I just hate uppity people who think they can just have their way because of who they are. Guards do this, servants do that," sensing the coming outburst from Varian, Trixie gave him a smug smile and a polite bow, "And I know your Grace is not some bureaucrat who just bosses others around for no reason, so I see no reason for one King to tell another what to do."

Varian was not ready for that day. He looked on at the two Elves with a mixture of anger, confusion, and admiration. He had half a mind to have the wench punished for her tongue, but he could sense that there truly was a bond between the two…whatever it may be. Last he heard, Kael'thas was hopelessly smitten with Jaina…fortunately she was not directly in that room at the time or else things might become awkward.

Jailing the consort/partner/whatever she was of a possible future allied King…that would be less than diplomatic, even if she was smug and very jail-able.

Continuing her audacious declaration, Trixie remained as hammy as she could in order to keep the befuddlement of the King going, "So you can't have him. Kael and I have an agreement. A contract of sorts, and he will be accompanying me to fulfill his agreement with me just as he will fulfill his new one to you."

Her words finished, Varian began weighing the risks of letting Kael go out on the streets against the political scandal if he was found out to be keeping the Elven Prince seemingly 'hostage'…and the scandal if Kael was murdered on the streets.

"Is this true, Sunstrider?"

Kael nodded, not knowing what to say without appearing emasculated given Trixie's near claim of ownership of him.

Her claim confirmed, Varian decided he would have someone cure him of his growing headache when this was over so he could think clearly. He had been having them more recently, and this was certainly one of those occasions.

Still, he would not let her have the last laugh, and he decided to show her that he was being very forgiving of her behavior, "I can just have you imprisoned for daring to tell a King what to do."

Trixie shrugged as she lifted her nose up and struck a nonchalant pose, "I tell an uncrowned King what to do every day. What's one more?"

That actually made Varian laugh even as Kael's head hung down in shame, the Prince only comforted by Lavitz who was laughing as well but also patting the poor man on the back.

"What is your name, Elf? I care to know who dares cross a King with such boldness."

Trixie gave a curtsy to him, pleased with her own performance, "Trixie Lulamoon. Not a household name yet, but I intend to change that soon."

"A fame-seeker, I see," the King nodded as if he suddenly understood her, "If you destroy a sizeable portion of the Scarlet Crusade you will surely receive the fame you seek."

"I don't think so. I am not a killer. I am not some mercenary-rabid dog you can point at others and watch as they are ripped to tatters. So no."

"Trixie," Kael grit his teeth. She was getting away with a lot, but he did not want her to push the envelope too far.

Fortunately, Trixie was not turning down the request, merely shifting the goals, "If these people truly are a menace, we will deal with them accordingly. I will not murder for you, but when I return with your task of defeating them accomplished."

"You believe you can defeat the Scarlet Crusade without shedding blood?" Varian snorted derisively, "I apologize, but perhaps I expected too much of you. You are clearly insane."

"I ask that you remember that when we return," Trixie bowed once again, "Now, returning to an earlier matter, I know that you may be willing to reward us for our conflict with the Defias, but we graciously refuse any direct compensation for the deed."

While he was ready to write her off as a crazy fancy of the Elven Prince, her words struck the Warrior and made his amusement halt. She was refusing to be rewarded? For what ulterior motive?

"Oh?"

Truth be told, Trixie did not believe profiting off the death of the unfortunate souls who had come to rebel against Stormwind would be a moral thing to do. She did not regret escaping them, but she would not walk in the footsteps of the amoral Humans who had defeated the Brotherhood the first time.

Still, to not appear weak, Trixie would leave out that detail. She knew not if the King would be receptive to any Brotherhood sympathies, so she dared not test it when she was already on thin ice.

"I will spare you the reasons, but I only ask that you provide us with reparations for the damage incurred upon our persons. Not a reward, just a gift to assist your newfound allies."

Clothes, supplies…things they would need to accomplish his given quest, and things that Trixie would very much like to have. Not exactly a net gain given how things turned out, so it was not payment so much as it was what she said: reparations for what they endured.

Lady Prestor leaned in to whisper to the King's ear and he reacted by sighing and turning his attention to one of the corridors leading away from the throne. After she finished he turned back to Kael and Trixie.

"You two are free to leave. I will have an agent of mine supply you with information, and your lost and damaged belongings will be replaced. I have other matters to attend to," he began to leave with his adviser, "See to it that you stay low, Sunstrider, and do not linger long enough for others to identify you. Your secret is safe within our walls, but outside…"

Before he could get far, he was interrupted by the sound of metal clanking on the ground as a soldier hastily knelt down.

"My lord, if I may, I would like to accompany Lord Sunstrider."

Varian turned back to see his newly returned soldier kneeling before him once again. The sudden request took the King by surprise, as he had expected Lavitz to actually follow him while the other two would leave. For the man to ask permission to chaperone the Prince…Varian was once again caught off guard.

Despite the man's wishes though, the King did not believe it to be a wise decision, "You are in no condition to serve as a soldier, Lavitz. You ought to rest and recover."

Lavitz continued to bow his head as both Kael and Trixie beside him tried to hide their joy, "I may not be able to serve on the frontlines of our conflict as-is, but I believe myself capable of confronting the Scarlet Crusade and any interlopers who may interfere. I can travel with these two and regain my strength along the path, and then return to service when I am able enough to do so. I believe that protecting him until he can resume his mantle as Lord of the Blood Elves will serve in Stormwind's best interests, as having the aforementioned tyrant left unchecked will lead us to more conflict, and further unnecessary bloodshed will not do our people any good."

Lady Prestor gestured to the path Varian had been on, trying to urge this conversation along, "My King, the war council is meeting now. We should not delay."

"Very well," Wrynn sighed as he shook his head and then smiled to his dutiful servant now asking permission to leave, "Lavitz, you have my permission to accompany them. I will have details on the Scarlet Crusade drafted so you can confront them with foreknowledge, so do not leave too soon. Visit your mother perhaps."

"Thank you my lord."

Before Varian moved to leave again he gave one last look to Trixie and Kael, his look earnest, "Good luck. I mean that."

With the King departed and the guards and Lady Prestor following him, that left the trio who had escaped the Defias mostly alone except for guards posted further down the hallways and by where they came in. Free to then talk, Lavitz turned to face the others with a grin on his face. Kael quietly thanked him for joining them with a nod, while Trixie gave the soldier a brief hug in thanks.

"Now, we have some time before we head out, but we should not dawdle too long as my Lord warned. Still, some time is needed, so there are item shops, weapon shops, and my home of course!" the soldier's face lit up as he thought about his home, his blonde hair not nearly as radiant as his face as he beamed, "Please meet my mother! She will be happy to see you because she hasn't had guests for a while, I reckon!"

Trixie gave a soft laugh as she felt her stomach rumble, "I sure could use a good rest and meal after everything."

Kael nodded, agreeing that stopping by the soldier's house would be a good choice for them, "Let us go there first, then."

The trio left behind the modest throne and returned to the entrance where they could leave for the rest of the town.

"Lord Wrynn, I am unsure about—wait, is that…"

A woman with blonde hair was rushing towards where the War Council was meeting when she caught sight of someone leaving the castle.

"K-Kael?"

The Prince did not hear her, instead laughing as he and Lavitz joked about Trixie's near suicidal approach to speaking to Wrynn. Trixie, who was a couple feet behind the two fast friends, did hear the woman's voice though and turned to face where it came from.

Eyes glowing of magic, blonde hair, the clothes of a Mage, being Human, and knowing Kael…

Trixie was not quite sure, but she had a feeling she was looking at the "Jaina" she had been told about. The one who had spurned Kael to instead court the evil Prince Arthas.

"Kael, wait!"

Trixie turned back around and hurried to catch up with the other two, making no mention of the woman calling after them as they all soon slipped into Stormwind's heavily crowded streets.

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It took some time, but it was not even mid-day when the three arrived at a comfortable looking home that was away from the main commotion of the city. Fortunately with all the people rushing by it had been easy for the two Elves to hide in plain sight, as they were not doing anything to draw attention to themselves and the common people likely could not tell the difference between a High Elf and a Blood Elf like many others so those that did notice a long ear or a glowing pair of eyes did not pay much mind to them.

The front door was unlocked when they returned, and the ecstatic soldier barged in just as happily as Trixie was sure Mitter'meyer had been when he had returned home after his capture and torture. The two Elves followed meekly in behind him, being the guests, each observing the inner portion of the house as they entered.

"Mom! I'm home!"

The thought that this was the fearsome Warrior who could display superhuman stamina and strength made both Trixie and Kael share a glance of amusement, but they kept quiet to not rain on his parade.

The inside of the house was similar to its outside: nice and comfortable, with a great deal of things to make it cozy though it was not the largest. Overall it appeared to be a less refined version of Mitter'meyer's home, which had magic here and there to aid with common things such as light sources, while this one had no such arcane trinkets.

A woman who looked to be past her prime yet not ancient rushed out into the house's foyer, where she took no time to hug her son, "Oh Lavitz! I'm so glad you're home! I was worried because I didn't hear from you for such a long time!"

"The Horde's resistance was tougher than I thought. But don't worry. We defeated them!" Lavitz lied with a laugh, his absolutely beaming face not betraying the fact that he was hiding the truth.

His mother let him go and took a step back to look at him, "Your late father would be proud to hear that."

"Lavitz, what about the Deadmines?" Kael questioned, not instantly getting why Lavitz was bringing up the Horde instead of the Defias.

"Don't mention that to her!" Trixie harshly whispered back in a low enough voice that Lavitz's mother could not hear.

Lavitz turned back to face them and whispered as well, "Sorry, but I don't want her to be worried, so let's not bring that or your real identity up," he gestured back to Kael and laughed it off, "I don't know what he is talking about."

"Well, fine. I am already happy just having you come home, but..."

It was then that Lavitz realized that the attention had moved off of him and onto Trixie, who stood behind him and to his right with Kael to her own right.

"You brought a bride with you! My wonderful son!"

Kael laughed, Trixie blanched, and Lavitz blushed as he tried to cut his mother off from hugging Trixie too.

"Mom! She is not!"

"Oh, don't be shy. What's your name?" the friendly woman asked Trixie, who was still caught off guard by the sudden proclamation born of ignorance.

"T—Trixie, ma'am."

Her son's declaration did not deter Lavitz's mother from thinking what she wanted to think, "Trixie, my son is a little awkward and stubborn. But he is very sweet natured."

Kael calmed down from his laughter and shook his head, "He is, but I'm afraid to say they are not together."

Lavitz guided Trixie with a hand so that she was standing next to her original partner, "He is right. She is Kael's sweetheart."

"He—Hey! When did I become Kael's—"

Kael cut his flustered partner off and wrapped an arm around her, seeing already that the only way that they could convince this overbearing mother that Trixie was not Lavitz's wife was that she was someone else's, "It's true. I...I am Trixie's partner."

"Wha…I…" Trixie gawked. She understood what the two were doing, but she was still overwhelmed by suddenly having her relationship fake-upgraded with her close friend.

That all seemed to get through to Lavitz's mother, as she bowed her head in apology, "Oh! Please excuse me. Take good care of Trixie."

Trixie blushed as she realized she was now stuck in a fake relationship with Kael…again, "Well...I, I don't know what to say…" she glanced at Lavitz and whispered again, "What's going on?"

He shook his head solemnly as he responded quietly, "Once my mom gets an idea into her head, that's the end. That's the only way we can manage her."

"Lavitz, please find somebody like her so that I can hold a grandchild in my arms. You are not a child anymore."

He held his hands up in protestation, embarrassed that she was being like this in front of company, "Yeah, I know, I know."

"And, you'll stay here today, honey?" his mother requested.

Lavitz sighed and shook his head, "Well, I was commanded to confront the Scarlet Crusade so I have to leave as soon as..."

His mother, the former wife of a soldier and the mother of one, nodded in understanding even if it made her sad that she could not spend much more time with him, "Oh well, I understand. But you can have at least lunch, can't you? It'll be ready soon, honey, and there is enough for everyone."

Trixie smiled and followed after the woman as she head towards the back of the house where a kitchen was. She had helped Evangeline before, so she thought herself capable of helping once again in thanks for receiving a free meal, "I'll give you a hand!"

"Oh, there's no need..." the hostess paused as she thought for a moment, only to then come up with a thought that made sense to only her, "But, then again, maybe..."

"It would be my pleasure," Trixie offered, and that settled the matter, leaving both Kael and Lavitz alone in the foyer. Seeing Trixie leave made Kael feel guilty, since he didn't want to make Trixie do all the helping since they were both guests.

"Shall we help them?"

Lavitz turned to him and tilted his head, "Can you cook?"

"Not really yet, but I am good with fire…"

That was enough to get Lavitz shaking his head, "Let us leave the cooking to them then. I'm sure she is better than you."

Kael snorted as he thought of Trixie's eating habits, "If you only want to eat bread, I am sure you're right. How about we take a nap then while we wait?"

"…"

"What? I sense I am being judged."

"Kael, act like man."

"Hey, getting enough sleep is important for your health and even your skin!"

"…no. Any other great ideas? Practicing with our weapons in the middle of this hallway?"

"Sure. You have any spare spears in the back you can use instead of the shoddy one you picked up?"

"You're hopeless."

* * *

Elsewhere on the continent, someone else was busy finishing their own lunch when a knock on their door stole their attention from the meal. She turned around to see that her open door had an elderly but physically strong man standing in its wake.

"High General Abbendis," the man politely greeted before giving her a small nod.

She smiled as she turned around to face the man who had helped her and her father start this crusade against the Undead, "Grand Crusader Dathrohan, what brings you to me today?"

"Is it such a travesty to visit an old friend?" the man smiled at her as he moved from the doorway to take a seat across from her.

Slightly embarrassed, Abbendis smiled at the old man who did not look a day older than he had in the Third War, "Of course not. You are a friend to me as much as you were my father. What may I do for you?"

The Old Man nodded and got right to business now that he was prompted a second time. Since her father's passing Abbendis had taken to listening to other founding members of the Scarlet Crusade for wisdom, and among them Dathrohan appeared to be the smartest. She could not always remember him being like that, but perhaps in the early years of the Crusade he had simply been overshadowed and unable to display his absolute brilliance.

Whatever he had to say had a great purpose, so she listened readily.

"My scouts have reported that Undercity has planned an offensive against our frontlines, diverting effort into gaining ground rather than keeping it. I believe it would be wrong for us to withhold so many troops when they can better serve our cause elsewhere."

They had multiple fortresses and their forces were not exactly held tightly. They were spread thinner than High General Abbendis would have liked, but she did not want to lose ground and so she had her forces hold their ground and only seize new ground whenever Dathrohan had some great plan that would go off flawlessly.

Still, his suggestion went against her common sense. She knew personally that she was more of a Warrior than a tactician, but she was by no means inept, "But that would leave us open to attack from the Alliance."

He nodded but offered a quick counter-point, "We can deal with that if that comes to be an issue, but first we must prevent our forces from being wiped out."

Pausing briefly, Abbendis thought it over. If they could repel the Undead quickly enough, they could then use those forces to come back and repel any attack from the Alliance who would likely use a smaller force than usual to infiltrate and take advantage of the Crusade's re-assignment of forces. If timed correctly, this could work out wholly to their advantage.

"I see what you mean. The Scarlet Monastery has many skilled warriors who can be reassigned elsewhere…keep some posted there, but I will leave the exact details up to you and the officers there."

Dathrohan stood up and smiled at the younger leader of the Crusade, giving her a respectful nod as he prepared to leave, "I am glad you agree. Farewell, High General."

"Farewell Grand Crusader," She nodded back and watched as he walked out.

Before she could resume eating her meal, another interruption came to be. A lowly page had come to her door and after engaging in trivial formalities explained why they were there.

"High General, we found this package addressed to you. It is not magical in nature, so we do not believe it to be a trap."

The leader of the Crusade looked down at the sealed box and nodded. She gestured for him to place it down on her desk and he did so.

"Thank you. Go about your duties."

Once he was gone she closed the door and quickly set about looking inside the package. Was it something important?

Inside were only two things: a letter, and a rose.

"I am used to admiring mail, but a rose?"

Addressed to Brigitte Abbendis, the woman blushed as she read a letter of admiration about her staunch campaign against the Undead and many of her other merits, ending with seemingly thought out compliments of her dark red hair and the resolute nature of her steely-blue eyes.

It was nice being admired by one's subordinates…but it also would be nice if they had left a name at the end of the page.

Being at the top was lonely.

"Now if only I could find out who sent it…or find the one who spread that nasty rumor that I have a daughter. Really? At my age? Perverted nonsense…"

* * *

**Author's Note: _Fun fact, a retcon made Brigitte go from being in two places at once (one alive, one Undead) to suddenly having a daughter (who is somehow as old as her mother, who in turn is pretty young). So thought I'd poke fun at how it makes no sense._**

_**Hope you all enjoyed, and I hope to hear from you in the comments below!**_


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